New New Life
by Gilari
Summary: Spoilers for Journey's End! After the TARDIS fades away, Rose and the Doctor begin their new new life together, facing their challanges together, and trying to overcome them. Unashamedly Doctor/Rose!
1. Journey's Beginning

Rose turned, to say goodbye to her Doctor once again. For the last time. And he was gone. The TARDIS took off with a familiar rushing sound. Tears blurred Rose's eyes. It just wasn't _fair_! After everything that she had gone through to get to him…!

A familiar hand slipped into hers. And it fit just right. She looked at him.

"Is it really you?" she asked.

He smiled his familiar crooked smile.

"New new Doctor," he replied.

She gave him a watery smile.

"Yeah, but is it really you?"

"It's me, Rose. I'm the Doctor, just… different."

"And you love me?" she asked.

"Oh Rose. I always have."

"But you couldn't tell me. The other you. You never said. You had so many chances, and you never said."

"I wouldn't allow myself to. I couldn't stay with you forever, so I tried to hide it, to bury it deep. For your own protection, and mine. Sooner or later, you would break my hearts. You did, do you know that Rose?"

"Oh Doctor!" Rose threw herself into his arms, and he held her tightly. It was just like before. His hugs were exactly the same mixture of solid comfort and controlled passion. He smiled into her eyes, and leaned down, kissing her gently.

"Alright, alright. Enough with that," Jackie cut in. "We still have to figure a way to get home from bloody Norway! Thanks a lot for stranding us here, Doctor!" she hit his arm.

"Oy!" the Doctor complained. "It wasn't me, it was him." he gestured to where the TARDIS had just been.

"Any of you got any money?" Jackie asked.

The Doctor shrugged. Rose checked her pockets before shaking her head.

"Spent it all in other universes," she explained.

Jackie gave a longsuffering sigh.

"Good thing I thought to take my wallet, isn't it? Got my credit card," she fished it out from a pocket, and waved it in Rose's face. "Let's go home, sweetheart. You too, Martian boy." She walked away determinedly.

"Oh brilliant!" The Doctor groaned. "Now she's picking up nicknames from Donna!"

"What're you going to be called now?" Rose asked, struck by the sudden thought. "You can't go around calling yourself 'Doctor' any more."

"John Smith? It's as good an alias as any. Dr. John Smith. What do you think?"

"Perfect," Rose giggled.

"Are you two _coming_?" Jackie demanded from half way up the beach.

--

It wasn't until Jackie had found them passage on a train bound for Paris that the Doctor and Rose had a chance to talk again. It had been a whirlwind of trying to get tickets, and Jackie flashing her credit cards around and acting like the wife of a millionaire, an act which the Doctor found extremely amusing. They settled down in the compartment while Jackie went off to see about accommodations once they reached Paris. She was hoping to get them a zeppelin to London.

The Doctor leaned back on the plush red bench, and stretched out his long legs. Rose curled up beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I can't believe this," she said.

"Me neither. Almost a thousand years travelling the galaxy and now I've only got one heart and one life," the Doctor said.

Rose giggled.

"No, I mean you here with me."

"I can hardly believe that myself," he said, leaning down to kiss her hair.

Rose smoothed the lapel of his jacket, that had gotten ruffled when she had grabbed them to kiss him.

"The other one wore brown," she said, almost to herself.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"The other you. He wore a brown suit. When you were with me, you wore a blue one."

"Yeah. After you were gone, I put on the brown pinstripe one. It reminded me less of you. Too bad about the coat though. I _loved_ that coat." He sounded mournful.

"We'll find you another one," Rose promised. She sighed. "What are we going to do now?"

"Well, for starters, we could get married. Then, we would have to find a house. Me, with a house! And it will have to have carpets and a mortgage and everything, but that's ok, cuz we'd be together, and I could get a job, and…"

"Doctor!" Rose interrupted.

He shut his mouth at her exclamation.

"Did you just say 'get married'?" she asked, sitting up.

His grin grew huge.

"Why yes, Rose Tyler, I did. Forever, you promised me that once. Now I can promise it to you. A forever together, just me and you. What do you say?"

"Does it need to be said?" she teased.

"_That_ is not fair!" he complained, pouting.

Rose laughed.

"Yes, you daft dolt. I want nothing more in the world than to marry you."

The Doctor pulled her to him and kissed her. The passion and longing in that kiss took Rose's breath away.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he said. He rummaged in a pocket of his jacket, and tipped a small object into Rose's hand. "This is for you. The other me had it. Carried it around with me at all times. I was going to give it to you before you got stuck in this world, but then you got stuck, and it became like a token of you that I carried around with me. He gave it to me, right before I left. He knew that I would be needing it."

Rose looked at the object. It was a ring. A gold band with a sparkling clear stone. All around the band were twisting, curving Gallifreyan letters.

"It's a moon diamond from the planet Raven. Made when the moon rocks are compressed by the heavy atmosphere it has once in a thousand years."

"It's beautiful!" Rose breathed.

The Doctor took it out of her hand and slipped it on her ring finger.

"Mine forever," he said softly.

"You carried it around with you when I was gone?" she asked.

He shifted uncomfortably.

"I wasn't going to propose to you. I was just going to give it to you. To signify what we had was deeper than just companion and Time Lord. And… rings are important to humans. They're symbolic. This ring meant 'I love you', when I couldn't say it."

Rose traced the symbols on the band.

"What do they mean?" she asked.

He smiled softly.

"It says 'Forever'. And that's my promise to you."

Suddenly Rose giggled.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

Rose was now giggling helplessly.

"That's humans for you! You say something deep and meaningful and they just laugh at you!"

Rose chose not to remind the Doctor that he was half human now as well.

"It's just that… I always used to imagine being married to Mickey and being Mrs. Smith. Now I'm going to be Mrs. Smith after all!"

The Doctor joined in her laughter.

_Author's Note: OH. MY. GOODNESS. The Finale. There are no words. It was… and then… and OH! Everything! The Sortof!regeneration and the two Doctors, and Sarah Jane and Martha and Mickey obviously going to join Torchwood, and Rose. ROSE! _

_I hope I was not the only Rose/Ten shipper screaming and squeeing as loudly as I could when they finally –_ finally – _kissed. But I couldn't help thinking, what happens to Rose and the human Doctor now? How will they live together? So I started this. I hope to continue Rose and the Doctor's life together on the alternate world. I mean, if she can't be with the Time Lord Doctor, this is the next best thing, right? _

_So that's why I started this story. I know every Rose/Ten shipper from here to Timbuktu is going to be writing one of these. They'll be more common than reunion stories, I predict. So, I want to throw my hat in the ring early, and see if I can be original, before the flood of them comes in. _

_But oh man. My heart broke for the Time Lord Doctor, all alone. And Donna…! How could they do that?! It was so, so sad! I _love_ Donna! She was so brilliant! Donna Noble, supertemp. _

_Ok, rant over. _

_By the by, I want my very own Doctor to keep, like Rose got… ;-) _


	2. Zeppelins and Other Novelties

"Zeppelins. Why did it have to be zeppelins?" The Doctor asked, leaning out the window.

"You only got one life now, Alien Boy. You better not lose that and break my daughter's heart," Jackie said, pulling him in.

"All right. No need for grabbing," the Doctor complained, rubbing his arm. "Blimey, your mother can _yank_."

Rose smirked.

"You're telling me."

She picked up his arm, and brushed her lips over it.

"Better?" she asked innocently.

His eyes went wide. He was easier to read than he had been as a Time Lord.

"Much," his voice came out as a squeak. He cleared his throat. "Much better, thank you. Rose Tyler, where did you learn to be a tease?"

Rose smiled mysteriously.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Rose could tell that all this sitting still was driving him mad. He was used to running around and causing trouble. She knew a certain amount of restlessness was to be expected. But he had to get used to human limitations now.

An idea came to her and she stood up.

"You wanna walk around with me, Doctor?"

The Doctor jumped up, seeming relieved.

"Yeah sure. Let's go!"

"Well don't get into trouble, yeah?" Jackie said sternly.

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Jackie. I am nearly a thousand years old. I think I can handle things."

"You're not any more, Mister. Besides, trouble follows you everywhere, and I don't want Rose disappearing into alternate universes or anything like that."

"Oy! She did that on her own!" the Doctor argued.

"Wherever you go, trouble comes too," Jackie snapped back.

"Can't argue with that," Rose said, cutting in between the two of them. She pulled at the Doctor's arm.

They linked arms, and strolled away down the car.

"It's just like being in an airplane," the Doctor said, sounding interested. "I've been wondering what makes these zeppelins go, since it can't be hydrogen. Waaaaay to explosive, hydrogen. Could go up in flames any time like the Hindenburg. Mind you, the Hindenburg was not my fault. I was trying to prevent the Scoosh from taking over the earth, and _fwoom!_ Up the whole thing went. Now there's a question. Why does everyone want to take over the Earth? Tiny little planet in the middle of nowhere…"

"Oy! You live there now!" Rose interrupted, laughing. "You _are _like that Donna girl," she grumbled. "You don't know when to shut up."

--

"London. Thank _God!_" Jackie exclaimed. Personally, Rose thought the same. Being stuck in a Zeppelin with a hyperactive half Time Lord was _not _fun.

The Doctor was leaning out the window again.

"It's beautiful from up here!" he exclaimed. Rose raised her eyebrow.

"Haven't you seen London a thousand times from the air?" she asked.

He shook his head, not taking his eyes from the scene below.

"Never had the time. And besides, the TARDIS just sort of materializes from one place to another. It really does very little actual flying."

He paused, and looked down at Rose, who had tucked herself under his arm.

"Time. It's funny. When I was the lord of time I never had enough of it. And now I only have one life. And I feel like I have all the time in the world. And I could do anything with it!"

"Let me guess, you want to become a pilot, so you can fly over London all the time…?" Rose teased.

The Doctor wrinkled his nose.

"Not exactly. I was thinking more along the lines of doing things I've never done."

"Are there things you've never done?" Rose asked, curious.

"Sure there are! Weeeeell… I've done most things. But maybe they'll be different in your universe. And maybe this universe doesn't need saving all the time. So we could just relax, and you know… do things together. I've done most things, but never done them _with you_."

Rose beamed. That was the nicest thing he could have said.

"I can't wait," she told him.

--

Rose tried going to sleep in a dozen different positions. Every time, something kept her awake. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was happening to the Doctor, if he wasn't right in front of her. Rationally, she knew he was in the next room, but she was still fighting the urge to run into his room and check on him.

"He's human now. He needs sleep," she lectured herself, turning over. But the feeling grew and grew. Suddenly, she knew she _had_ to see him right away. What if he wasn't there? What if something had happened to him and he had vanished? What if it had all been some sort of dream?

Pushing the blankets off of her, she forced herself to walk calmly out of her room. The light from the hallway nearly blinded her, and she stumbled into something solid.

"Rose?" asked a voice.

She squinted in the light.

"Doctor? What're you doing right outside my door?"

"What're you doing leaving it in the middle of the night?" he asked.

Rose sighed.

"I was… I was going to check on you. To see if you were still there. I keep thinking maybe it was a dream, or something will happen to you."

The Doctor drew Rose into his arms, and held her securely. Rose buried her nose in the flannel of one of Pete's pajamas.

"I keep thinking the same thing. I don't want to let you out of my sight. Not ever."

Rose nodded.

"Stay with me?" she whispered. "I won't be able to sleep otherwise."

The Doctor nodded, and allowed himself to be drawn into her room. He lay down on the bed, and Rose curled into him, pulling the blankets over the both.

"Nice jam-jams," he whispered to Rose, smirking.

She grinned.

"Thanks. Dragons and castles are my favorite. You've gone some pretty spiffy PJs yourself."

"Yeeeeep. Pete's got taste, that's one thing I'll say for him."

The Doctor and Rose shared a smile. Suddenly, the Doctor let out an ear-splitting yawn.

"I don't think I've ever been so tired!" he exclaimed.

"That's cos you're human now. Your body needs rest every night. Like the rest of us," Rose explained, but the Doctor already had his eyes closed.

"It won't be so bad, if you're here to fall asleep with," he said sleepily.

Rose cuddled up to him, and put her head on his chest while his arms went around her. She closed her eyes and listened to his single heart beat until she fell fast asleep.

--

Rose was awakened by a sudden whack across the head.

"Oww!" she complained, opening her eyes and rubbing her forehead.

It was still dark. Beside her, the Doctor thrashed out again.

"Doctor! Doctor, wake up!" Rose said, shaking him.

He started, and his eyes flew open.

"Rose. You're here."

The relief in his eyes was evident. He pulled her to him.

"I was dreaming. I dreamed you were pulled away from me. That you were on the other side if the ghost chamber wall, and I couldn't get to you. I dreamed…" but here his voice failed him.

Rose stroked his tousled hair as she would a child.

"It's ok. It's all over now. Just a dream, nothing more. I'm right here."

The front of Rose's shirt grew damp as the Doctor buried his face there.

"I killed them, Rose. A whole race. Genocide."

Now Rose saw what he had been dreaming of.

"Look at me," Rose commanded.

The Doctor lifted his face, damp with tears and contorted by fear and anger.

"They were evil. They would have destroyed the whole universe. Thousands of universes. You saved everyone. That is nothing to be ashamed of."

"But I did it again," The Doctor said, his face crumpling. "I killed a whole race again."

Rose held him close.

"It's not your fault. You did the right thing," she repeated.

"Davros was right. I fashion weapons out of those I'm around. I'm not safe around anyone. Look what I did to Martha, to Sarah Jane, to you."

Rose shook her head emphatically.

"No. We chose to do those things because we care about you. I chose to come across the universes because I needed to be with you." She rubbed soothing circles on his back. "It was just a dream." Her lips found his and she kissed him gently. He held on to her as if his life depended on it.

"Don't ever leave me, Rose Tyler," he whispered. "Without you, I could not live."

"No chance of that," Rose whispered back. "Even when you do hit me."

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, suddenly all guilty concern. "Maybe I should go back to my own bed."

Rose caught his arm and pulled him back.

"When you have nightmares like that? No chance. You're staying here where I can keep an eye on you and make sure you're alright."

"But what if I hit you again?" he asked, sounding conscious-stricken at the thought.

"I've had a lot worse travelling with you," she reminded him. "Besides, you need your sleep."

"Who's the doctor now?" the Doctor asked.

Rose smiled, and felt his arms tighten around her.

"That depends on who you ask," she answered.

_Author's Note: So, was I the only one who found that kiss on Youtube and watched it over and over again? (looks guilty) Yeah, totally fluffy. But it's going to be hard for the Doctor to adapt to living on Earth, living with Rose, and being broken all over again. He has so much more learning to do! _

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter of this! I had 20 reviews, by far the most I have ever gotten for a single chapter. I was so surprised! I had no idea at people liking this so very much! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and want to write more of this story right away when I get reviews like that!_


	3. Jailbird Boyfriend

"_Shopping_?" The look on the Doctor's face was one of abject horror.

"Yes, Doctor. Shopping. You know, where you go around to stores and exchange paper and round disks of metal for clothes that you need to wear..?" Rose said, feeling a headache coming on.

"But I have clothes!" the Doctor insisted.

"One blue suit and some of my Dad's old stuff that is too short for you are _not_ clothes. If you're going to be a normal person from now on, you have to dress like one."

"But… but…" the Doctor cast around for an excuse. "But I don't have any money!" he said triumphantly.

Rose waved a credit card in front of his face.

"I have a job, remember? And my dad is one of the biggest millionaires in Europe. Money is no object."

The Doctor looked panicked.

"But Rose… I've been shopping with you before. You take _ages_."

"Well how else are you supposed to find anything good?" Rose asked, tucking an errant lock hair behind her ear.

The Doctor cast around for more excuses, and found none.

"Oh, alright…" he said reluctantly.

Rose smiled triumphantly, knowing she had won.

"Look on the bright side, Doctor. We can look for a long brown trench coat."

The Doctor looked cheered, as he took Rose's offered hand.

"Janis Joplin gave me that coat, you know. I didn't think much of it till this regeneration. Just sat in the back of the TARDIS wardrobe cuz I didn't much fancy wearing it. But there was something about this regeneration that wanted to wear it…"

Walking with his hand in hers, Rose smiled at his chatter.

--

"Did you buy out the entire store?" Pete asked, looking over the top of his book as the Doctor walked into the room, arms laden with bags.

"Feels like it," the Doctor grumbled, dumping his load on the sofa and going back for more.

Rose perched on the arm of the sofa, and laughed.

"Don't forget the bags in the back seat!" she called after him.

Pete raised an eyebrow.

"How much did this cost me?" he asked warily.

Rose shook her head.

"Out of my savings, Dad. Besides, he had nothing to start with. He needed _everything_. He only had 1 suit to start with."

"Are we starting a store?" Jackie asked, walking in to see a sea of multi-coloured bags on the sofa and spilling onto the floor. One-and-a-half year old Tony rested on her hip.

"Took the Doctor shopping," Rose explained.

Jackie seemed to understand at once.

"I wish you had let me come. That would have been a sight to see!"

"That's the reason we _didn't_ let you come," the Doctor said, his arms full of bags again. "That's the last of them, Rose. Ones in the back seat included."

"Well you certainly bought the whole town, didn't you?" Jackie said, amused. She handed Tony to Rose. "Let's see them then."

Rose placed Tony on her lap, and kissed his downy, white-blond head.

"Hey sweetie," she crooned. "Were you good for Mummy today?"

Tony laughed, and gabbled baby talk.

"You show her," Rose said to the Doctor.

He gave her a long-suffering look, but reached for one of the bags, handing it to Jackie. Jackie inspected the contents carefully carefully.

"Suit. Suit. Suit. Really does he need fifty million brown/navy blue/gray/green suits?"

"Oy! I happen to look extremely handsome in suits!" The Doctor objected.

Jackie just rolled her eyes.

"Trainers. Dress shoes. More trainers. Same trainers in a different colour. Really, Rose, couldn't you stop him from buying all the same things in different colours? He needs variety."

The Doctor smirked.

"Actually, Jackie, it was her idea."

Jackie didn't respond. She had moved on to more bags.

"Various t-shirts. That's good, that is. Can be worn pretty much anywhere. Trousers. Jeans. Oh, you'll look a bit nice in _those_ jeans." Holding them up.

The Doctor blushed crimson, and Rose hid her smiled behind her baby brother's head. Pete didn't even try to hide his amusement.

"Socks. Under things. _Spaceship boxers?_ I didn't know they made those for adults."

The Doctor snatched them away from her, going even more red.

"Spring jacket. Good idea, that. Especially with all the rain we get here. Winter coat. Scarf… more scarf… blimey, does this scarf go on forever?" Jackie asked, as she continued to pull multi-coloured scarf out of the bag. "That'll fall down to your knees, that will," she commented.

The Doctor smirked.

"I know."

"Jumper. Jumper. Another Jumper. Horrible knitted Jumper. Really, Rose. How could you let him buy that? Collared shirt. Several collared shirts. More t-shirts. Pajamas. Dressing gown. And what's in that little bag?"

But the Doctor had already snatched that up.

"It's nothing," he mumbled.

Jackie looked less than impressed.

"Oh, why don't you just tell her?" Rose asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"No! Rose Tyler, let me preserve a scrap of my dignity."

"Rose? What is it?" asked Jackie suspiciously.

"Rose! Don't you dare!" the Doctor cautioned.

"I can't help it, Doctor. It's hair gel," Rose said, her voice shaking with suppressed laughter.

"Well I don't have the stuff I had in the TARDIS any more," the Doctor said shamefacedly.

Pete surveyed him with a critical eye.

"Now there's one mystery of the universe solved. I always wondered how you got your hair to stay up like that," he said.

Rose and her mother caught each other's eyes, and burst out laughing.

Pete scowled, and hunched over his book.

"Just cuz I haven't _got _any hair left doesn't mean I can't look at other peoples. You cruel women."

--

"Now, Sir, if you will tell me your real name, we can get this done quicker, and there'll be no more monkeyshine."

The Doctor growled with impatience.

"John Smith. That's my real name. Dr. John Smith."

"Sir, this is your last warning," the Police man said, sounding terribly annoyed.

Something inside the Doctor snapped. He had had a long and tiring day, and he still wasn't used to the limitations of the human body, and now _this_ was happening.

"_John Smith!!_ What is the matter with you stupid apes? Haven't you got _anything_ between your ears? Not able to comprehend simple speech? Want me to say it in German? What about Klingon? Do you really find it so hard to believe that someone actually might be called John Smith?!" The Doctor was yelling now.

"Right, you! We're taking you to lock-up tonight to cool your temper, and charging you with obstruction of the law tomorrow, on top of your other charges!" the copper yelled back.

"I am _not_ going with some PC Plod who thinks he can just come in and…"

"Don't you dare mock me! You're treading a very fine line here, Sir, and I suggest you…"

"EXCUSE ME!" Another voice cut through the din.

The Doctor swallowed his seething rage at the incompetence of Earth police men, and turned. He gulped when he saw who it was.

A squad of four people stood there, dressed in black non-descript clothing. They all had no-nonsense looks about them, including the one who had spoken. Rose.

"We'll take it from here, officer," she said coolly.

"And just who are you?" the police officer demanded, his face still red with anger.

A man to Rose's left flashed a badge. His dark hair was shoulder length, and his face was chiseled and classically handsome.

"Torchwood. We'll take it from here."

The officer took a deep breath.

"Fine. Take him. He's a nuisance anyways."

"Come with us," the woman on Rose's right said to the Doctor. He followed them as they walked out of the Police station, and into a black non-descript van.

"Rose…" the Doctor started.

Rose held up her hand to silence him.

"I don't even want to here it."

"But…"

"_Not now_ Doctor." She said, her voice dangerously quiet.

The dark haired man scowled at Rose as he slid into the driver's seat of the van.

"I don't see how bailing your boyfriend out was such an emergency, Tyler," he said.

"Yeah, well it was," Rose answered, curtly.

"It was a misuse of our authority," the woman said, as she sat in the back next to the Doctor.

"Do you know what would have happened if they had held him? If they had taken even 1 drop of his blood as a sample, or taken his fingerprints? The history of medicine would have been changed."

"It wouldn't have been that big of a deal. Not any more," the Doctor muttered under his breath.

"I will deal with you later," Rose said to him shortly.

The woman beside the Doctor allowed her eyes to go wide.

"Ouch," she whispered to him.

The Doctor scowled, and stared stormily out the window.

The man on the other side of the woman shrugged.

"I don't see why we had to do that, but you said it was important, Rose, and we do owe you."

"_Thank_ you. Tom," Rose said.

There was an uneasy silence in the van until it pulled up to the gated of Tyler Mansion.

"Next time your boyfriend gets left in jail, got that Tyler?" the driver asked.

"Whatever, Marks," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"And don't forget you owe me big."

"Like you would ever let me forget."

Rose got out of the car, and motioned for the Doctor to do the same. Her jaw was set, meaning she was holding her anger in.

"He was a bit snippy," the Doctor commented, shoving his hands into the pockets of his new suit jacket as the van roared off.

"He has a right to be. I just misused the authority of Torchwood to get you out of petty charges," Rose said, the colour rising in her cheeks. She turned on him, glaring fiercely. "_What_ did you think you were doing?! Wandering off like that. Getting in a _fight_…? What are you, fifteen? Sometimes I think you're a bloody teenager! Did your brain disappear with your other heart? Didn't you realize the trouble you might have started?!" she asked.

"Yes, I had an idea. But I've been cooped up in that house for a week now, while you go swanning off to work. For Torchwood! You work for bloody Torchwood! And I'm bored out of my mind, contemplating my life stuck forever on this wretched planet. I just went for a little walk. A stroll, that's all. I _trust_ that was allowed. Or did I have to ask permission first?" the Doctor asked sarcastically.

"Of course you didn't have to ask permission. But you could have avoided getting picked up by the police, couldn't you?" Rose shot back.

"But I couldn't have avoided the two men who started the fight with me!"

"You were in a pub! What were you doing in a pub in the first place?" Rose demanded.

"_Drinking_. That's what you do in a pub, isn't it?"

"_Why_ were you drinking. You don't drink. _Ever._ Not even at Christmas. And you don't get drunk. But those men do, and they were drunk enough to start a fight over nothing."

"The one took a swing at me!" the Doctor protested.

"So you beat them to a bloody pulp?!" Rose shrieked.

"_Yes!_ Ok, yes I did. I've had enough of being a pacifist, and taking everything! He swung at me, and I just got fed up with taking everything. I hit back!"

"Self defense is one thing, but beating two men senseless is another!" Rose yelled.

"I _know!" _The Doctor yelled back. Then, more softly, "I know. I know it was stupid, Rose. I should have just walked away. But I was so _angry_ at everything." Just as suddenly as his anger had come on in that pub, it vanished, leaving him exhausted and weak.

"Oh, Doctor," The disappointment in Rose's eyes was almost too much to bear. He turned away.

"He was right when he said I was broken," he said.

"Doctor. Look at me." the Doctor faced Rose once again.

"You are _not_ broken. You're just… full of anger. Everyone gets like that. But you can't go around beating people whenever you like. Marks is right, I can't be there to bail you out every single time."

"I know," the Doctor said. He felt deflated and weary.

"Come here." Rose took him in her arms, and they held each other tightly. "I know this has been hard for you, staying in the house all the time," she said. "And on top of that you've had to adjust to having just one heart, and having to sleep at normal times, and eat regularly. But we're going to pull through this, yeah?"

She pulled away, and searched his face for confirmation.

He nodded.

"Yeah. We're going to pull through this."

"Good. Dad's been asking for a place for you at Torchwood. And before you say anything, it's not like it was in the other universe. It's good. You have to take my word on that. You could have a job, which would keep you out of the house. And it could even be in something you like, like engineering. You can upstage all the Torchwood people by being brilliant."

The Doctor pulled her in and held her, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"Why do you even put up with me?" he asked tiredly.

"Because," Rose answered. "No matter how dumb you act, or how many stupid things you do, I love you. And that means I'm here for you, no matter what."

The Doctor sighed.

"Forgive me?"

"Yeah."

They held each other in silence. A thought came to the Doctor suddenly.

"You know, PC Plod was right."

"About what?" Rose asked.

"Nobody is going to believe I'm John Smith if I don't have any paperwork to back myself up."

Rose pulled away from him, her face thoughtful.

"Hmmm… paperwork. Like a birth certificate and stuff?"

"Yeah. And if I'm going to be a doctor, I have to be a doctor _in_ something. So I need to have gone to school. I need documents."

A smile suddenly appeared on Rose's face.

"I know just the person to get them from. I'm calling in another favour."

She pulled her mobile out of her pocket and dialed.

"Suzy? Hi. It's me, Rose. I need to invent a person…."

_Author's Note: I'm not sure how that fight turned out. It went in a different direction than I thought it would. The line about the Doctor being a teenager was spurred by a conversation I had with a friend, where she compared this Human Doctor to a teenager in his actions and uncertainty about things. I guess the idea of a teen!Doctor stuck with me. _

_It made me laugh, the amount of people who assured me I wasn't the only one to watch that kiss over and over. That makes me feel better, actually… And guess what I found out? There's an extended kiss scene from Confidential that someone posted on Youtube. It's much longer, and more involved. Much more like I pictured a kiss between Rose and the Doctor would be like.. Should have used that for the scene! I am such a fangirl… _

_31. That's how many reviews I got for chapter 2. 31!! I have never in my life had so many reviews for a single chapter. It totally blew me away! You guys are so fantastic! I was planning on putting this story on hold for a bit while I finished something else, but your reviews have spurred me on to write more as fast as I can. Thank you SO much to everyone who reviewed, you really made my day! _


	4. Inventing a Person

Rose walked confidently up to the door of the shop.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" the Doctor asked, looking around. "It doesn't look that impressive to me."

"Yeah, well it's not supposed to, is it?" Rose said.

The small shop was built into the causeway above, and they could see feet walking past. Rose pushed the door open to reveal a dusty souvenir shop. A bell tinkled somewhere in the back.

"Hello there. How may I help you?" asked a Welsh-accented voice.

The Doctor looked curiously at the man who came out of the back of the shop. He had seen him somewhere before.

"Ianto! Good to see you again!" Rose said cheerfully.

Ianto's face broke out into a wide smile.

"Rose! Did it work?" he asked.

Rose smiled, a little sadly.

"Yeah. It worked. I stopped the stars going out, didn't I?"

Ianto shot the Doctor a questioning look.

Rose understood.

"It's ok, he knows everything already."

"In that case, may I be the first person to congratulate you on your success," Ianto said heartily.

Rose gave him another sad smile.

"I managed. Thanks. How's Lisa? And the twins?"

A huge smile broke over Ianto's face.

"Lisa's fine. Sam is a lot better, and Tom's just got the tiniest cough left," he answered.

The Doctor looked curiously at Rose.

"Ianto's sons were sick. I helped find a cure," she explained.

"Some sort of plague that was released from a space ship that fell to earth. Rose is too modest – she stopped an epidemic with that cure," Ianto replied.

Rose flushed pink.

"Wasn't anything. Just doing what you would have done, Doctor."

The Doctor shook his head, impressed.

"Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth. Didn't I tell you?"

Ianto peered at the Doctor.

"Is this the bloke you need all the paperwork for? Suzy's been going mad, getting it all ready."

"Yeah. This is him. Dr. John Smith, meet Ianto Jones of Torchwood Three. Ianto, this is my fiancé, John Smith."

"Fiancé?" Ianto asked, shaking the Doctor's hand.

"Long story," The Doctor said, smiling.

"Well Congratulations for that too. You're a lucky man, Mr. Smith. Rose is a right treasure. If I wasn't happily married myself, I'd think about stealing her from you."

Rose's cheeks turned pink

"Ianto you old flirt. If those goes on much longer, we'll never get what we came for."

"Right," Ianto said, suddenly all business. "I'll let them know you're here." He picked up the phone and pressed a button.

"Suzy? They're here. Right." He put the phone down. "Go on in," he said to Rose and the Doctor. He reached under the desk and pressed another button. The wall shifted, revealing an elevator.

The trip down took longer than the Doctor thought it would. They must have been pretty deep underneath Cardiff by now. The door slid open, and a entrance appeared.

"Welcome," Rose said, grinning, "To Torchwood Three."

The Doctor looked around eagerly. It wasn't at all what he had expected. Above them, a shriek sounded.

"Is that a...?"

"Pterodactyl? Yeah, it is," Rose said.

"I was going to say carbon-based Ptonite. They're often mistaken for dinosaurs when found in fossils. They've been coming to earth for thousands of years. That's a particularly nice one, if I do say so myself."

Rose just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. Right. What was I thinking?" she muttered.

Before the Doctor could respond, a woman appeared on a balcony above them. She hurried down the many small flights of stairs and landings.

"Rose!" She cried.

Rose laughed, and ran forward. The two women embraced.

"Suzy! It's so good to see you again!" Rose exclaimed.

Suzy was tall and thin, with dark curly hair and a long nose. She looked almost Middle Eastern, the Doctor speculated.

The two women parted.

"Suzy Costello, I want you to meet John Smith," Rose introduced.

Suzy raised an elegantly shaped eyebrow.

"John Smith? You're going to have to do better than that. _Nobody_ is going to believe he's really called John Smith."

"That's the beauty of it," The Doctor said. "It's so cliché that nobody would choose John Smith for an alias. Which, conversely, makes it the perfect alias."

Suzy thought about that for a moment.

"That almost… makes sense," she said. "Which documents do you need?"

"The works," Rose said. "Birth certificate, schooling, Doctorate, papers, everything."

Suzy looked critically at the Doctor.

"Who did you used to be?" she asked.

"Oh, just, you know. A hermit of sorts. A hermit with friends is odd, I know, but Rose sort of likes hopeless cases, doesn't she?"

"If you say so," Suzy replied, shaking her head. "Where do you find these people, Rose?"

Rose's eyes sparkled with suppressed laugher.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she replied.

--

The Doctor stood up and stretched. He wasn't used to getting sore when he sat for too long, and the pins and needles in his legs were also new. He winced. They had been going at it for what felt like hours now, creating all sorts of different documents that they thought he would need for his new life. Suzy must have owed Rose one heck of a favour to do be doing all of this.

Rose grabbed a paper, and looked from it to the Doctor.

"So, here it is. You're John D Smith. The D is for Doctor, but it says here that it's for David. You're 35 years old. Your birthday was last Tuesday. You were born in London to Sarah Jane and Harry Smith. They're both now deceased. You have no siblings. You read Time Magazine and watch the BBC, shop at expensive suit stores, and your favorite sport is cricket. Anything else?" she turned to Suzy.

"Yeah. You said 'Doctor' John Smith. So he needs a doctorate in something, and I'm assuming it's not medicine."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose.

"I wouldn't want people to look to me for medical attention," he agreed.

"What about engineering?" Rose volunteered. "You like to tinker with things."

"Engineering's good. Can I have two?" the Doctor asked, looking at Suzy.

Suzy raised her eyebrow.

"You think you're smart enough to have two?" she asked.

"Weeeeeeell… I think I could manage it," the Doctor said. "After all, clever is an understatement when it comes to me."

Rose giggled.

"Rude!" she said.

"Not ginger either," The Doctor shot back.

They both grinned at each other. Suzy looked lost.

"Right. So. Back on track. Second Doctorate?" she asked, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.

"What about transdimensional astrophysics?" the Doctor asked.

"Is that even a subject?" Suzy fixed her dark eyes on him.

The Doctor leaned back in his chair.

"It's a very specialized subject. There are only a few of us in the world who truly understand it. I won't try to explain it to you. You would just make a muddle of it," he said.

"Well, you certainly have the arrogant act down pat," Suzy remarked.

"Act?" Rose questioned, smirking.

Suzy rolled her eyes.

"Ok, so one doctorate in Engineering and one in astrophysics. You can tack on the transdimensional by yourself. What else do you need?"

The Doctor looked at the papers scattered around Suzy's office.

"I think that's about enough," he said.

"Good." Suzy hit the print button on her computer.

Rose got up and stretched.

"Think I'm going to use the loo," she said.

Rose left silence in her wake.

Suzy was looking at the Doctor with a very scrutinizing gaze.

"Are you going to tell me what all this is about?" she asked.

The Doctor did his best to look innocent.

"All what?"

"Come on, John, or whoever you are. I've created an entire life for you right here, but you must have had one before. Who did you used to be?"

The Doctor avoided her eyes.

"I told you. No one. I had no identity."

"But you must have been _someone_," Suzy insisted.

"Would you believe me if I told you, Suzy Costello?" the Doctor asked.

It was Suzy's turn to squirm uncomfortably.

"I can believe almost anything, having worked this job for four years. Now tell me, who are you?"

"A traveler. Or… I was. But something happened, and I have to stay here. Rose travelled with me for a long time, and when she found out I was here, she wanted to help me."

Suzy's dark eyes widened.

"You were the one she went back for," she said, wonderingly. "She crossed a universe to find you."

"Yes," the Doctor replied, sadly.

"All that. I helped her build that cannon, to shoot herself across the universes, to stop the stars going out. We were all scared that the end of the world was coming, and all she could talk about was this fellow who she had left behind. And it was you. It broke her heart, being here."

"It broke mine that to leave her here," the Doctor said in a low voice. "Which is why I came back with her. But I have no identity here."

"Which is why you needed me," Suzy surmised.

"Yes. I want to stay with Rose forever. Which means adapting to life here, with her."

Suzy nodded.

"I think I understand now."

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something else, but Rose appeared in the doorway.

"Everything ok?" she asked.

--

"All this officiating has made me hungry," The Doctor said. His stomach growled loudly, as if to validate his claim.

He and Rose stood outside the building over top of Torchwood Three, their new documents safe in Rose's purse. The Doctor was amused to think he now had not only a birth certificate and several degrees from different places, but also a bank account, a membership to National Geographic, and a points card at Henricks. The last of which amused him very much.

Rose nodded.

"How does it feel to be an official person, Dr. Smith?" she asked, taking his hand.

"Pretty good. Here I am, a certified human who went to uni and watches reality shows on the telly, and reads National Geographic."

Rose giggled.

"As if you could be ordinary," she scoffed.

"Rose?" the Doctor said.

"Yes, Doctor?" she replied absently.

The Doctor veered off their course, and stopped in front of a picturesque fountain.

"Rose… I…" he sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up on end even more than usual. "I'm sorry we're stranded here, Rose. I'm sorry _I_ stranded you here."

Rose looked surprised.

"What brought this on?" she asked.

"Something Suzy said. I wish that we could be like we were, travelling around in time and space, but we're stuck here, and we can't do anything about it. Just like last time."

"But there's a difference between now and then," Rose reminded him. "Now we're together."

The Doctor smiled at her, but was determined to go on.

"When we were separated, after Bad Wolf Bay, I tried everything I could think of to get you back without the universes collapsing. I spent weeks in my library, researching, looking for _anything_ that could get me back. I didn't give up on you."

The Doctor pulled Rose into his arms. Their hugs had always had a special comforting quality that none other could replace.

"I just wanted you to know that it broke my hearts to leave you there on that beach, and not even be able to hug you, or tell you how much I loved you."

"I know, Doctor," Rose said, her voice muffled in his shirt.

"And if you had asked Martha, she could have told you that I went on and on about you. More than I should have. I know I made her feel inadequate, but I just couldn't stop. You were always on my mind."

"I know," Rose said again. "As you were always on mine."

"I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be than here with you, and I know it broke the other me's hearts all over again to leave you here," the Doctor finished.

"I'm glad there's a you, Doctor," Rose said. "I don't think I could have bourn it if I was all alone again. I nearly went crazy last time."

The Doctor chuckled.

"Suzy said as much."

Rose laughed too, and they released each other from their hug, but not from each other's arms. The Doctor wrapped his arm around Rose's shoulder in a possessive gesture. Her arm went automatically around his waist. They seemed to fit together so perfectly, as if they had been designed for each other.

He and Rose began to walk again. It almost didn't matter what direction they went in. Their train didn't leave for another four hours, so they had plenty of time to wander around Cardiff. That was the thing about this world, the Doctor thought as he allowed Rose to pull him into a clothes shop, they had trains everywhere. It was almost like being back in the 1800s. Except for the pollution. And the giant skirts. Not that he would mind seeing Rose in one of those again…

"Rose can I ask another question?" the Doctor said, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Is there anything I can do to stop you?" Rose quipped.

"What did you do for Suzy Costello that she owed you such a big favour?"

A large grin spread over Rose's face, and the tip of her tongue peeked out from her teeth.

"She had a little trouble with a glove."

"A glove?"

"A glove that brought people back to life for about a minute and a half. What a mess that was! Took my whole team plus hers to straighten that one out."

The Doctor was about to ask more, but his stomach growled loudly.

"Roooooose," he whined. "I'm _hungry!" _

A wonderful smell wafted past, and he sniffed deeply. It was the tantalizing aroma of potatoes cooked in grease- an Earth specialty that he had become particularly fond of since travelling with Rose.

"Are you whining?" Rose asked, laughing incredulously at him.

"Yes," the Doctor replied, pouting. "I'm hungry and I smell chips. Come on, Rose, let's have chips."

Rose brightened up immediately. She took a deep breath.

"Oh. That smells a bit good. We could nip in for some chips, couldn't we?"

The Doctor nodded enthusiastically.

"I could even pay, now that I have real money and a bank account. To make up for last time when I didn't."

Rose laughed.

"Alright. Chips it is and you're paying."

_Author's Note: Four chapters in four days. I am very impressed with myself. Usually it takes me ages to get this far in a story. But this one just seems to be writing itself. I'm just brimming with plot bunnies!_

_I put Suzy Costello in this because I kinda wish she was still in Torchwood. I thought she was cool, in spite of her morbid fascination with that resurrection glove, and it was a shame she died so early into series one. So, naturally, without Jack she is the head of Torchwood Three. _

_Once again, thank you to everyone who reviewed. You are all really spurring me on to write more and faster. Please, feel free to offer suggestions for what you think should happen, and I will try to incorporate as many of them in as I can. _

_I have no idea where this story will end. I have the sort of vague idea that it will go on forever and chronicle the whole lives of Rose and the Doctor. There's so much more for them to do and adjust to! So, to all of those who worried that this is going to end, put your minds at rest cuz I just can't see an ending from here. _


	5. Torchwood Troubles

The Doctor tilted his head back to look all the way up to the top of Torchwood Tower. In his universe, there was a plaque on the building, dedicated to all the people who had died at the Battle of Canary Warf. Rose's name was on it, he knew. The thought made him shudder.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," he said.

"Don't be silly, Doctor. You need a job, and Torchwood needs another bloke in the research and development department who knows his way around a hydrospanner. You'll be in your element, telling them everything they're doing wrong and how rubbish they are at putting together alien tech. You're more than qualified," Rose argued.

The Doctor took another long look up the side of the Torchwood Building.

"But _Torchwood_. Aren't you forgetting it was invented to keep me away from Britain? It's in its constitution," he asked.

Rose shook her head.

"Not in this universe. In this universe, Queen Victoria invented it after an encounter with a werewolf. She saved herself here, and then established Torchwood to protect the world against other hostile unknown forces."

"So I'm not in the constitution then?" the Doctor asked, feeling a little let down.

Rose sighed dramatically.

"Nope. Here you're just plain old John Smith, and you're going to go get a job. Now come on!" she hugged him lightly from the side, and then ran ahead towards the doors.

The Doctor felt his face grow warm, and his blood sing in his veins. It was very strange, but every time Rose touched him now he got this same reaction. He had never felt like this when he was a Time Lord. He had been attracted to her, yes. Very much so; he had even gone as far as to daydream physical intimacy between them. But _this_ was something entirely different. Human hormones were a foreign thing to him, and he wasn't sure he liked them. How did humans _cope_?

And then there was Rose, always touching him lightly, and then flitting off. The tease. Didn't she know what she did to him? Probably not, he reflected. She probably had no idea that when she brushed hand along his arm, or gave him a light sideways hug, or squeezed his hand that he wanted to take her in his arms and ravish her right there and then… The Doctor shook his head at where his thoughts had lead him. Really, he was going to have to do a better job of hiding all these new and alarming feelings that were seething up.

Rose was already at the door, holding it open impatiently.

"Where were you? Off far away in your thoughts again," she scolded good naturedly.

"Actually, close to home," The Doctor replied. He would rather have died then told her what he was really thinking of.

The inside of the Torchwood Tower was just as impressive as the outside. And just as institutional. Rose waved at the girl behind the front desk, and continued along to the elevator.

"Personnel is on the 20th floor," she said, pushing buttons.

The Doctor used the cramped quarters of the elevator as an excuse to pull Rose to him. He could see the reflection of her smile in the glass opposite them as he put his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulder. She craned her neck and kissed his forehead, making his heart pound all over again. As the elevator slowly rose floor after floor, the Doctor studied their reflections. They looked like a single person, melded together. That's the way it should be, he thought. Her and me, together.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. Rose took his hand, and lead him down a rabbit's warren of desks and offices.

"How am I going to find my way back?" he asked weakly.

Rose chuckled.

"Don't worry. You'll find your way around soon enough. Can't be any harder than navigating the TARDIS, and her corridors moved around!"

"True," the Doctor admitted.

They came to a door which had the neat label "Personnel" beside it. Rose pushed the door open.

"Hi!" she said brightly to the woman at the desk. "I'm Rose Tyler. I'm bringing in John Smith for his interview?"

The woman checked her computer.

"Oh right. Miranda is in her office, if you want to go there. It's second door on the right."

"No need!" came a voice behind them.

Rose and the Doctor turned to face a short, plump woman with a heap of frizzy blond hair.

"I'm right here. Rose, darling, you look positively radiant. Can I venture a guess that it is the doing of this young man?" Miranda asked.

The Doctor smiled appreciatively.

"I'm John Smith," he said holding out his hand. Miranda shook it.

"I'm Miranda Richardson. Rose and I are old friends. But not so old, I see, that she told me about you. Well, well, you are something, aren't you?"

The Doctor found himself blushing under her scrutiny. He could tell that behind her breezy attitude, this Miranda had a sharp eye, and not much escaped her.

"I'm something alright," he said cheerfully. "Just not sure what that something is."

"No indeed. Neither am I. How are you, Rose dear?"

Rose smiled.

"I'm fine, Miranda. Much better than fine, actually."

"And am I to surmise that this handsome fellow has something to do with that, or has your finger just grown that lovely ring all by itself?"

I was right about that sharp eye, the Doctor thought to himself.

Rose blushed.

"How do you know these things without me even telling you?" she asked.

"Oh, darling, your face speaks for itself," Miranda replied, leading the way into her office.

"Mr. Banks is already there, Ms. Richardson," the secretary called.

Miranda nodded her head in thanks.

They made their way to her office. It was more spacious than some of the other offices that the Doctor had glanced at on his way past, but it was made to look small by the giant of a man who was sitting in one of the chairs. He stood up.

"Ah Miranda, you're here. And I see you've brought the applicant. Good. I'm Theodore Banks, head of the Research and Development department here at Torchwood." Mr. Bank's hand, when the Doctor shook it, dwarfed his. The man was a good four inches taller than the Doctor himself, and solidly built. The Doctor wondered idly if he had ever considered a career in rugby.

"So, tell me, what can I do for you, Mr. Smith?" Miranda asked, sitting down in her chair behind her desk. With four people in the room, it felt more crowded than ever.

"Weeeeeeell," the Doctor said, flopping into one of the chairs on the other side of Miranda's desk. "Rose tells me that Torchwood is in need of people familiar with alien technology."

Miranda raised an eyebrow.

"Oh did she? And are you, Mr. Smith? Familiar I mean?"

"You could say that," the Doctor said modestly

"What else could I say?" she asked.

"Well, I've worked with a lot of alien devices in my time, and I know a thing or two about fixing them, if that's what is needed," the Doctor replied.

Miranda consulted a paper in front of her.

"You seem highly qualified. Rose seems to think you have a degree in 'Spock', when we talked on the phone, although I don't see that listed on your resume." Miranda's eyes sparkled with hidden humour.

The Doctor shot Rose a glance. She looked innocently at him.

"Well, I have one in transdimensional astrophysics, if that counts as 'Spock'," he said.

"Dear me. Transdimensional. I'm not familiar with that term," Miranda said, fixing her sharp eyes on the Doctor.

"Transdimensional you say?" Mr. Banks said leaning forward and looking interested. "Would you know how to work particle theory?"

The Doctor shrugged. He had played with particle and string theory in the nursery.

"Anyone can work particle theory if they know base eight math," he replied.

"Particle theory and base eight math have nothing to do with one another," Mr. Banks said blandly.

"Haven't your scientists found the link yet? Huh. No wonder you're having problems," the Doctor said.

Rose elbowed him.

"Rude," she hissed.

"Tell me, Mr. Smith, what you make of this," Mr. Banks said, holding out an object for the Doctor.

The Doctor took it and carefully examined it. His eyes lit up.

"I haven't seen one of these in ages," he murmured.

It was round and flat, and fit inside the Doctor's palm comfortably. The surface was of cool black metal. The Doctor traced his fingers over it, delicately.

"We think it's some sort of weapon," Mr. Banks said, watching the Doctor carefully.

The Doctor shook his head.

"You humans. You always think everything is a weapon. Could be anything." He waved his hand over the top, and a light flashed. Six round spots in different colours appeared around the edges of the object. "It's a storage device. It's like a CD player. But what it plays isn't music, it's emotions. If you press this top button, it plays the emotion for everyone to feel."

The Doctor pressed the button.

A surge of wonder and joy flooded him, sweeping him along with it. He was reminded of the first time he had looked up at the burnt orange sky, and saw the stars twinkling away, and wanted to be among them. It was like the look on Rose's face as he showed her the most beautiful things in the universe, and watched her marvel at them. It was amazing. Then, just as abruptly as it had begun, it stopped.

Rose opened her eyes, and brushed a tear away. Miranda sniffed. Mr. Banks looked at the Doctor with wide eyes.

"You're hired," he said.

"But Theodore, you haven't even interviewed him fully yet!" Miranda protested, a little half heartedly.

"I don't care. Anyone who can make something do that can work in my department any day. Welcome to Torchwood Mr. Smith," Mr. Banks extended his large hand, and shook the Doctor's once more.

The Doctor's face broke into a smile.

"Just for making it do what it was designed to do?" he asked, handing the emotions recorder back to Mr. Banks.

He took it back carefully, almost reverently.

"We didn't know it could do that before," he replied. "You start in ten minutes. Let me get my coat, and I'll show you down to where we work."

"I guess you have your answer," Miranda said, with a shrug. She smiled at Rose. "Come again, dear, and visit. I want to here all about how you became engaged to this singularly interesting man."

Rose smiled, and followed the Doctor as he tugged on her hand.

"Well, that was easy," she commented as they walked back into the Personnel lobby.

"Yeah. A lot easier than I thought it would be," the Doctor said.

Rose looked at him.

"What you did, that was beautiful," she said.

"Yeah. It was. Made by an empathic race. That's how they talk to each other. I think what we found was a 'hello'."

"Blimey. If _that_ was just hello… I wish we had visited that planet," Rose sighed.

The Doctor grinned.

"You should see them when they're angry," he said. But he was filled with regret. Why didn't he take Rose to that planet when he had the chance?

Rose smiled.

"I gotta go back to my department now. You're going to be looked after, yeah?"

The Doctor nodded.

"It seems so."

"We can meet up after work down in the front lobby," Rose said. "Now, don't patronize people too much, and remember not to be too rude. And remember to explain things for the others, and that they're just humans, and they can't help it if they're a tad slow."

The Doctor laughed.

"Play nice with the other kids?" he summed up.

Rose laughed as well.

"Exactly."

"I will. I know it's irrational of me, but human beings always have been quite my favorite species."

Rose smiled obligingly.

"Yes dear," she said, clearly humouring his madness.

She stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him lightly.

"Love you," she murmured.

"Love you too. Have a good day," the Doctor replied.

Rose fluttered her hand as a farewell, and walked out of the doors. The Doctor watched her as she went, feeling a little lost.

--

"Right. So. This is our department."

"In the basement?" the Doctor asked.

Banks looked embarrassed. He had told the Doctor that everyone called him 'Banks', and he expected his new employee to do the same.

"It's the only space we could get where we wouldn't have people complaining if we blew something up. There's quite a lot of space, actually." Banks lead the Doctor passed several piles of technology heaped on tables that he would have loved to take a look at. But Banks was walking at a brisk pace.

"Maxie!" he called. "I've found a partner for you, Maxie!"

A skinny teenage kid came out from behind a massive pile of junk, wiping his hands on a dirty cloth.

"What's that, Boss? Finally found someone who can keep up with me?" he asked.

"Cheeky," Banks scolded good naturedly. "Maxie, I want you to meet our latest victim, John Smith. Smith, this is Max Davenport. We all call him Maxie."

Max rolled his eyes.

"_You _call me Maxie, Boss. No one else."

The Doctor looked the kid up and down.

"We're going to be partners?" he asked skeptically.

"That's the way things work around here, Smith. We work on projects in partners. Fresh ideas and new perspectives and all that stuff."

"I hate to sound conceited," the Doctor said, knowing what he was going to say was conceited, and wanting to say it anyways. "But I'm a bit cleverer than your average genius down here. This kid has to be what, eighteen?"

"Seventeen. Last month," Max said, his smile showing all his teeth.

"I know what you mean. We were all skeptical about Maxie at first. But he's our resident boy-genius. We hired him cuz he's got an interesting perspective on things."

"I'm just doing this until I can find a school that doesn't bore me to death," Max said.

The Doctor grinned at that. He could relate to that.

"I'll let you two get acquainted," Banks said, and walked off in giant strides.

Max looked the Doctor up and down.

"John Smith, huh?" he asked.

"Yeeep. That's what my mother named me. She was a bit daft though, to call me that. Everyone said so. But she did it, just to be different."

"Be different by being the same?" Max asked.

"Yeah, something like that," the Doctor said. "So why are you here at Torchwood?"

"Like I said, got bored of school. I'm too clever for most of them. I was fixing cars when Banks found me, and offered me a job here. You?"

"Heard it was where all the geniuses went. Besides, I've got a fair hand with alien stuff. Got quite a 'Spock' way with me," the Doctor said, smiling the reference to Rose. Something on the table behind Max caught his eye.

"Is that a Optronic Laverscope?" he asked.

Max stood beside him, arms folded.

"Is that what it's called?" he asked. "I was just calling it 'that piece of junk'. It doesn't work."

"Have you tried tweaking the neuronic base?" he asked, taking his black-rimmed specs out of his pocket and jamming them on his nose to get a better look.

"It doesn't have a neutronic base," Max said, sounding surprised.

"Well then, there's your problem," the Doctor said confidently.

Max whistled.

"Banks was right. You're not bad. How do we jury rig on to make it work?"

The Doctor grinned. Now _this_ is what he liked.

"Weeeeelll…. If we tried getting together some spark plugs, and a length of copper wire, and jamming it together with some rubber bands and radio transistors, that might work when combined with the obtronic pathways…"

--

Rose hurried down to the R and D department. She had been worried about the Doctor all day, so much so that she could hardly concentrate on all the paperwork that she had to catch up on. Marks had been annoyed as usual, but who cared what he thought?

Her thoughts were constantly on the Doctor. How was he getting on with his job? Was he patronizing the others, as she knew he was bound to do if he wasn't stopped? What kind of trouble had he gotten into?

The elevator to the basement dinged, and she hurried out, biting a thumb nail absently. The department was strangely empty. As she walked through the department, she heard a voice raised above the others. It was the Doctor's.

"So you see, if you just tweak this switch a little bit, it does this..!" he moved out of the way as the device on the table levitated several inches. The gangly teenager standing beside the Doctor grinned widely, and the rest of the people burst into applause.

"How did you do that? We all thought that was broken for sure," someone in the crowd said.

"You see, all that needed doing was that the ground-to-air coordinator was broken. Max and I McGyvered a neutronic base to make it lift, and…"

Rose leaned against a desk, and grinned widely. The Doctor was going to be just fine.

_Author's Note: You know, now that it's been a couple of days since the finale, it's starting to sink in. I miss Donna already! She was so brilliant, a friend for the Doctor. Also, Cybermen at Christmas? Kinda no excited about that. I mean, they've done Cybermen already. Enough with the old villains, let's make some new fantastic recurring bad guys. I was so totally psyched last year for the Titanic. This year it's like… ho hum, I could handle waiting until Christmas. _

_I had a lot of fun making up co workers for the Doctor and Rose. I went a little crazy, but Max and Banks and Miranda were just so much fun! I especially like Max, the gangly boy genius who can give the Doctor a run for his money in the cheek department, if not in the genius department. _

_Thanks to people who suggested things! I will try to work them in, and if anyone else wants to do it please feel free. I forget who suggested that the Doctor not be able to deal with his hormones, but I tried to incorporate it into the story. It's actually a really good idea, considering human physiology is different from that of a Time Lord. The poor Doctor is in WAY over his head! _


	6. A Slight Problem

"Do you ever clean up in here?" Rose asked, hands on her hips.

The Doctor looked up guiltily. He was sitting at his desk, with bits of wire and metal scattered all over it, obviously deep in working on something. Still, that was no excuse for the total disaster that was his room.

"It looks as though a tornado has hit this place!" Rose said, disgusted. She picked up a shirt, gingerly. "This is gross, Doctor,"

"Rooooose!" he whined. "I'm busy!"

"I'm not coming in this room ever again, if you don't clean it up now," Rose said, setting her ultimatum before him. The Doctor looked torn.

"Maybe then you could leave me in peace," he groused, but he got up, and began to pick things up off the floor. He stacked several books onto a shelf, then sat down on the bed, as if that effort had tired him out.

"You're not done, Mister," Rose said firmly. "Honestly, what did you do when you travelled by yourself in the TARDIS?"

"She did the tidying up," he muttered.

He stooped down and picked up the blue suit jacket that he had come to this universe with. He turned it sideways to fold it, and several objects fell out of his pocket.

"Now this is interesting," he said, picking one up.

"What's all that?" Rose asked, coming to sit beside him. She was surprised to feel the Doctor slide just a little bit farther away from her, so that they weren't touching. He placed the pile of things in between them, almost like a buffer.

"I think all these things fell out of my pocket. Come to think of it, this is the jacket I grabbed from the TARDIS, after I grew out of the hand. I was naked then. Donna was quite horrified."

"She's a lucky girl," Rose murmured.

Something akin to a shudder ran through the Doctor. He cleared his throat rather loudly.

"I have a suspicion," he said, "that this suit, like the others I had on the TARDIS, has dimensionally transcendental pockets."

"Meaning?" Rose asked, raiding her eyebrow.

"Meaning, my dear Rose, that they are bigger on the inside."

"You've got TARDIS pockets?" Rose asked, giggling.

"Yuuuuup! Now, let's see what's in here," The Doctor reached his hand into the pockets and began to pull things up.

"Hmmm… marble. Couple of Roman coins. Rather wilted stick of celery…"

"What's that?" Rose asked, pointing to a crumpled paper bag. The Doctor peered inside dubiously. Then, his face brightened into a huge smile.

"Oh! Jelly babies! I used to love these! There's one left," he popped it into his mouth.

"Ewwww!" Rose scrunched up her face. "That is _disgusting_! Who knows how long it's been in there!"

The Doctor tossed the paper bag aside, and checked the other pocket.

"Bits of sprockets and wires – hmmm… better save that one – tiniest little blasting cap, care of my friend Ace. Didn't know I still had that."

Rose picked up several bits of paper. One had a very long formula crammed onto it in small spidery writing. The Doctor seized it, looking pleased.

"The Anhult formula! I've been thinking about this! I was working on it before Martha came on board."

He stashed that away on his desk under a growing number of papers, all with the same cramped, spidery writing all over them.

Rose moved onto the next paper. It was folded many times, and when she unfolded it the paper was deeply creased. She was surprised to see her own face, sketched roughly.

"What's this?" she asked, passing it to the Doctor. A particular look came over his face.

"I… drew this," he said, caressing the paper tenderly.

"Why?" Rose asked.

"When you were gone… I didn't have a picture of you. So I drew you. Every spare piece of paper I had, I sketched your face, so I would remember it."

Rose placed her hand over the Doctor's comfortingly.

"I'm here now," she said, smiling.

The Doctor pulled his hand away suddenly, leaving Rose feeling confused and a little hurt.

"What else have we got in here?" he asked, overly cheerfully.

"Lint. Lint. More paper. Pen. Tea bag. Shell. String. Pen knife." The Doctor listed all the things, handing them to Rose. He stopped suddenly, holding an object with both hands, wonderingly.

"What is it?" Rose asked, craning her neck to look at it.

The Doctor held it in both hands, reverently.

"Do you know what this is, Rose?" he breathed, holding it out for her to see.

"A piece of coral? Like what you get at the seaside, it looks like," she answered, unconcerned.

"This isn't just a piece of coral. It's TARDIS coral." The Doctor stared at it as if he was afraid it would vanish if he took his eyes from it.

"What's TARDIS coral?" Rose asked.

"You remember I told you once that TARDISes were grown, not made? This is what they are grown out of. The branch-things in the control room? TARDIS coral. It was always falling off when it got banged into, and I was always picking it up. I must have put this in my pocket, and forgotten to take it out. TARDIS coral! Just imagine, we could grow our own TARDIS!"

Rose frowned.

"How long does it take to grow a TARDIS?" she asked.

"About a hundred years, if it's in the right conditions, and carefully tended. Fully grown maybe twice or triple that, but you can use a young TARDIS for time travel, if not space."

"Doctor…" Rose said hesitantly. "We haven't got a hundred years. You've only got one life, and it's only going to be about eighty years long,"

"Oh. Right." The Doctor's face fell. Then, it brightened up. "But it can be a legacy. For our children. Their own TARDIS."

"What does it need to grow?" she asked, peering at the coral. It just looked brown and shriveled and full of holes to her.

"Right now? Water, and lots of it. In a few years it will need some biethotoline, a compound that is very rare on Earth, but I think I can get at work, if I'm careful. Then it needs to be planted in the ground, get regular watering, and it will grow." His eyes lit up and sparkled, as Rose hardly ever saw them do now.

She suddenly smiled.

"Let's go get it some water!" she said.

--

Rose was worried. Though the Doctor seemed to be enjoying work now, and was always in the company of Max Davenport, the weird genius kid, at home he seemed withdrawn and unusually quiet. Every time she was in the room, he found a reason to leave it. It was almost as if he was avoiding her.

She found him sitting sideways in a comfortable arm chair, his feet slung over one arm, a cushion at his back. His dark-rimmed glasses were shoved on his nose as he read.

"Into Dad's books already?" she teased, coming towards him.

"This one's quite good, actually," he said, looking up. " 'Margaret's Successor: the Life and Times of Harriet Jones'." His smile invited her to share in his amusement.

"Brave Harriet. She was marvelous in the end, wasn't she?"

A shadow passed over the Doctor's face.

"Yes, she was. She had three terms of office here. Did you know that?"

"Yeah. I was here for the last one," Rose answered. "She made a pretty good Prime Minister, actually. Bit heavy handed, but she was running a country left in tatters by the Cybermen." Rose perched on the edge of the Doctor's chair, and absently ran her fingers through his hair as she read over his shoulder.

The Doctor leaped up as if he had been burned by her.

"I think I might take a bit of a nap, actually. These eyes are getting tired from all the reading. Human weaknesses- still not getting used to them!" as he talked he edged out of the room. "A lot of great men took naps. Napoleon for instance, and Winston Churchill. Well, got to dash!" and he fled the room.

Rose sank back into his now-vacant chair and wanted to cry. He shrank from her touch and avoided her company. There was only one explanation: he was no longer in love with her. A dull ache formed in her chest and her heart constricted painfully. She hid her face in her hands, and blinked fiercely to stop tears from coming.

This is ridiculous! She decided after a long moment of self pity. I didn't search for two years for a way to get him back only to find him and have _this_ happen. There was probably some stupid reason that he was doing this, she decided. Maybe he thought she deserved better or something equally as daft. Or maybe, a small voice whispered menacingly, he really didn't love her any more, and couldn't think how to tell her. He was, after all, a different man now.

With a sniff, Rose got up, and went in search of him. He couldn't avoid her forever, and not talking would be postponing the inevitable if he really didn't want her.

She knocked determinedly on his door.

"Doctor? I know you're in there. I'm coming in," she said, opening the door.

The Doctor was sitting dully on the edge of his bed, staring into space.

"Rose? What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice betraying his weariness.

Rose closed the door behind her. She knew that the best way to do things with the Doctor was the most straightforward way. Otherwise, he would talk circles around you and you would never get to the point. She pulled off her ring from her finger, and held it out.

"Do you want this back or not?" she asked.

The Doctor blinked.

"Want it back? Why would I want it back? It's yours,"

"Do you want to break off the engagement?" she persisted.

A look of horror crossed the Doctor's face.

"Break off the engagement? Of course not! Why… why would I want to do that?"

"Then why are you avoiding me?" Rose demanded. "Why do you shrink away every time I touch you? Am I really that repulsive to you?"

"Rose! No! How could you think that!" The Doctor asked, shocked. "You're the most beautiful woman in this or any universe. And trust me, I know."

"Then why don't you want me?" Rose asked in a small voice, sitting beside him on the edge of the bed.

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up even more on end.

"Want you? Rasillion, Rose. It's wanting you that's the problem."

"What?" she said, confused.

The Doctor got up, and began to pace

"Ever since I became human, I've had these… feelings. Every time you are near me, my head spins and my heart pounds. Every time you touch me, it's like I'm on fire. It's getting worse all the time, and I don't know what to do about it. I've never had to deal with this kind of thing before!"

"Aren't Time Lords attracted to people?" Rose asked.

"Of course we are. But it's different. It's not so physical, so raw and primal. It's more intellectual fascination. I… don't know what to do, so I thought if I stayed away from you, I could figure it out. But instead I just made a mess of things."

"You… you love me then?" Rose clarified.

"Of course I do! I don't think I could stop even if I wanted to!" the Doctor said. He turned to her. "What am I supposed to do?"

Rose nearly laughed, but stopped herself just in time. It would hurt his feelings.

"The trouble is all these human hormones. I'm not used to them. It's like they all invaded my body with a rush and suddenly, I can't even handle being near you without wanting to…" he ran a hand through his hair again.

"Doctor, the solution is so simple. You want me? Take me."

The Doctor's eyes grew wide.

"Oh no, I couldn't do that," he said.

"Why not?"

"Because…" he sputtered. "It's… it's different with Time Lords. It's not just physical bonding that takes place. It's mental and spiritual bonding as well. We would literally become _one person_. It's far more intense than human intimacy. And I don't want to force you into anything."

"You're not forcing me," Rose said firmly. "I'm ready."

"But by Time Lord standards, we would be… that is to say… we would be married," the Doctor said hesitantly.

Rose held up her hand, which once again had the Doctor's sparkling Moon Diamond on it.

"We're getting married by human standards as well. I fail to see your problem."

"Oh Rose," he gently caressed her cheek. "You are the most amazing woman in the universe. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Once or twice," she said, smiling.

"Well you deserve to be told it every single day for the rest of your life," the Doctor replied. His lips hovered over hers. At the last moment, he pulled away.

"Are you sure?" he asked, worried.

Rose's response was to grab him by the collar and kiss him, to make sure he knew just how sure she was.

"Let's try out that solution," the Doctor said breathlessly.

_Author's Note: I feel like I've dispatched two requests in one go. Someone asked for more references to old companions and Doctors, which I've tried to give in the pockets scene. And continuing with the theme of rampant human emotions that the Doctor doesn't understand. _

_If anyone is interested in the title of Harriet Jones's biography, the Margaret referenced is Margaret Thatcher, a famous British woman Prime Minister. I would imagine that the English Press were calling Harriet Margaret's Legacy when she was in office, for her stern leadership during the Cyberman crisis. _

_I really like the idea of dimensionally transcendental pockets. Come on, don't you think that every one of the Doctor's suits had lots of room for his various bits of stuff? He strikes me as a really absent minded sort of person that collects things without even thinking of it. And a piece of TARDIS coral… well why not? I read somewhere that the Time Lord Doctor was supposed to give the Human Doctor a piece of coral on the show, but they cut it out. So in this, he gets one anyways. _


	7. House with Carpets

Rose was wakened by the sensation of kisses being trailed down her spine. She shivered.

"Stop that," she said without opening her eyes. "It tickles,"

"Good morning," the Doctor said cheerfully.

Rose rolled over and opened her eyes.

"Stop being so awake this early in the morning. It's obscene," she told him.

He grinned, sitting up and put on hand on either side of her, so that his face hovered above hers.

"Hi," Rose said, almost shyly.

"Hi," he replied. Gently, he leaned down and captured her lips. The kiss was slow and languid, a lazy early morning kiss.

Rose's eyes fluttered closed.

"Mmmmm…" she stretched, and then settled down on the pillows. The Doctor settled beside her, his arms snaking around her.

Memories of the night before swirled around Rose, and she smiled. The Doctor had been right; it was far more intense than anything she had ever experienced. It had been a mental bonding as well as a physical one. She leaned over, and whispered one word in his ear. His eyes grew large.

"So. Now you know," he said.

"Yes, now I know."

"Then you understand why it is such a secret. It's not just a name. It's so much more than that," the Doctor said, frowning.

Rose kissed his forehead.

"Don't frown like that. You'll get wrinkles," she said. Then she smiled. "I'm glad I know. It makes you more mine that ever."

"Am I yours, Rose?" the Doctor asked.

"What do you mean?" Rose said, confused. "Didn't last night prove that we belonged to each other?"

"What I mean is… the other me. Is he yours and I'm just a substitute?" he asked.

Then Rose understood. So that was what was bothering him. She smiled.

"Doctor. _My_ Doctor. He couldn't tell me that he loved me. He couldn't give me forever. You can. You did. That makes you mine."

"He would have if he could, you know," the Doctor said. "He and I… we have the same emotions. The same feelings for you. He loves you."

"Yes, but he couldn't say it. You could. And you trusted me enough to give me the most precious gift: your confidence. I know your name," Rose held him close, and listened to his single heart. "I saw it all, Doctor. All those years of loneliness. All that heartache and sorrow and travelling by yourself. How did you cope?"

"That was the old me. The new me… has you," the Doctor replied. "And what about you, Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth? You were more brilliant here than I ever suspected."

Rose smiled.

"All I could think about was finding a way back to you. Everything I did, everything I worked on for Torchwood was all to that aim."

"I love you," the Doctor said softly. "I should have told you every day, and I didn't have enough courage to." He kissed her again, so sweetly that it seemed like a crime when he finally pulled away.

Rose smiled up at him, and then caught sight of his hair, which was sticking up all over the place in a spectacular bed-head fashion. She couldn't help it; she started laughing.

"What's so funny now?" the Doctor demanded. "There's humans for you. I kiss you and you laugh at me!"

"It's your hair!" Rose giggled helplessly.

The Doctor rolled over, and sat up, patting his hair.

"What? What's wrong with it?" he asked self consciously.

"It's sticking up all over the place," Rose replied. She sat up next to him, and ran her fingers through it. "It's cute, actually. Endearing. You look all…"

"Dead sexy?" the Doctor asked, with a cheeky smile.

"You wish," Rose said, grinning. "I probably look a mess!"

The Doctor surveyed her for a moment. Rose blushed under his gaze, conscious that the blanket had fallen away.

"To me, you will never be more beautiful than you are right now," the Doctor said honestly.

Rose rewarded him by pulling him down to her and kissing him fiercely, with all the passion she had in her. The Doctor returned it with equal fervor.

"Rose, sweetheart, are you in there?" Jackie's voice came from the hall, knocking on the door. "It's time to get up, Love. And tell the Doctor he'll be late for work if he doesn't hurry."

The Doctor groaned, and leaned his forehead against Rose's.

"It's Mum," she sighed. "Nothing like being caught by your mum."

"Rose?" the Doctor said. "We _really_ need to get our own house."

--

Rose cautiously approached Jackie as she was reading, while Tony played nearby on the perfectly landscaped lawn.

"Mum?" she asked.

Tony gut up from where he had been playing with his trucks, and ran over to her.

"Wose!" he said, throwing himself at his big sister's knees.

Jackie put her book down.

"Was that his first word?" she asked excitedly.

"Hi baby," Rose said, picking him up. "Was I your first word?" she covered his small face with kisses as he laughed delightedly.

"Typical," Jackie complained. "I spend all this time with him, and his first word isn't 'mummy', it's 'Rose'."

Tony gabbled away to Rose in baby talk, happy to have someone lavish attention on him. Rose gave him one final cuddle, then put him down, where he went back to his trucks.

Rose sat down on the chair next to Jackie's under the large sun umbrella.

"Hello Sweetheart, how are you?" Jackie asked. "I haven't seen much of you lately. It feels as if we are just missing each other all the time."

"I'm ok," Rose said.

"Are you, love? How are you dealing with the Doctor?"

"It's… strange," Rose confessed, stealing her mother's lemonade and taking a sip. "It's like he's the same, but sometimes he's different. He'll be shooting his mouth off, just like I'm used to, and rambling off ideas at a hundred miles an hour, and then go and do something totally human, like talk in his sleep, or forget to shave."

"I know what you mean," Jackie said. "It was the same when I started living here with Pete. It was like he was the same man in every way except the small things. It just takes some adjusting, that's all."

"I forgot you're sort of in the same situation," Rose said. She thought for a minute before continuing. "Does it feel sometimes like you're betraying the first one? Like by being happy with Pete you're betraying Dad?"

"It did at first," Jackie admitted. "But then I realized what a gift I had been given. I had been given the chance to start all over again with the man I lost twenty years ago. How many other people can say that?"

"Well, me," Rose chuckled.

"Yes. You've been given the same chance. A chance to settle down with a Doctor made just for you. The exact same as the other one, but with all the qualities that will allow him to stay with you."

Rose nodded, her eyes thoughtful.

Mother and Daughter sat in silence for a moment.

"Are you happy, Sweetheart?" Jackie asked, breaking the peaceful moment.

Rose smiled softly.

"Yeah. I am. I mean, he drives me crazy, and he's a total nutter, and sometimes I get so mad at him I just want to scream. But then I remember how much I love him, and how much it killed me to be here and not be with him."

Jacky chuckled.

"That's love, Sweetheart. Sometimes those men make you so mad you just want to give 'em what for. But you would be miserable without them, and that's the truth."

Rose nodded.

"What would you think to us getting a house?" she asked hesitantly.

Jackie looked over at Tony, and smiled.

"It's hard to have your children leave. I'm glad I've still got Tony, or I would be lonely. But I guess you left me a long time ago."

"Mum…"

Jackie turned to her, a gentle smile on her face.

"You deserve so much happiness, my Rose," she said, putting her hand on her daughter's cheek. "Are you sure he wants to settle down? He's a philanderer if ever I saw one."

"It was his idea," Rose said. "A little house to live in, just him and me. And it wouldn't be far from here. You and I could see each other all the time."

"You'll visit, won't you?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. And make sure the Doctor doesn't make you buy one of those absurd tiny houses. You've lived in that little box too long. You need lots of space."

"It was bigger on the inside," Rose reminded her, stealing the lemonade again.

--

"This one is nice," Rose said, looking around the house. The real estate salesman was walking ahead, extolling the virtues of the house to no one in particular.

The Doctor looked around thoughtfully.

"It's _alright,_" he said unenthusiastically.

Rose sighed.

"What's wrong with _this_ one?" she asked.

"Nothing's wrong with it, per se. It's just not… where I picture us living," the Doctor said.

"But Doctor!" Rose protested. "We've looked at hundreds of houses, and you say the same thing about all of them. We have to find somewhere, or it'll be back living with Mum and Dad and getting interrupted all the time. Please, Doctor, try."

The Doctor looked dubiously at the mauve walls.

"It just doesn't feel like a home," he said. "I can't imagine coming back here every day after work."

Rose gave him a longsuffering look.

"Fine. We'll keep looking."

"So, what do you think?" the overly chirpy agent asked.

Rose and the Doctor traded glances.

"How many more are on your list?" the Doctor asked.

The real estate agent consulted his list.

"Just one more. It's a little farther away than you specified, but it's in a good neighbourhood."

"Let's see it then," Rose said wearily.

The drive there took ten minutes. Rose followed the real estate agent's car; the Doctor brooded.

The agent pulled up and parked beside a driveway so shaded with trees that the house couldn't be seen.

"It's a long drive way. I thought we could walk so you could enjoy the view. This house is a little out of the way, sort of your own personal enclave in the midst of the city," he said.

The Doctor took Rose's hand, and they walked up the long driveway. They walked straight for about a minute, then the driveway turned. When they rounded the bend, the house came into view. It was a rather large three story house, surrounded by trees and a pretty garden near the front door with a tinkling fountain.

"Oh!" said Rose, delighted. "It's beautiful!"

The Doctor pulled on Rose's arm, his eyes wide.

"Rose!" he cried. "Look at the door!"

Rose looked, and began to laugh. The door had three sets of two panels, and was painted a royal blue.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" she laughed.

"We'll take it!" the Doctor said excitedly.

"But… you haven't even seen the inside!" the real estate agent protested.

"Well, show us the inside then. But we're still buying it," the Doctor reiterated.

The Doctor was delighted with the huge attic, which he immediately claimed for his study/library. Rose loved the kitchen, and the way the light fell across the master bedroom. They were both enchanted with the many windows and the huge back yard.

"It's perfect!" Rose sighed. "It's like it was waiting for us!"

"I _told_ you," the Doctor said smugly. "I told you to wait until the right one came."

Rose drifted into the bedroom that was straight across the hall from the master bedroom. She stood in the middle of it, looking all around.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor asked, coming behind her and putting his arms around her waist.

"Picturing furniture in here. A dresser in that corner, a toy chest over here, a crib next to the wall. What do you think?"

"Perfect," the Doctor agreed.

"Four bedrooms, though. Do we really need that many?" Rose asked, turning in the Doctor's arms so that she was facing him.

The Doctor held her to him.

"Of course we do!" he said. "The kids may have to share rooms, but that's ok, isn't it?"

Rose laughed.

"How many kids are you planning on having?" she asked.

"Five or six," he replied, nuzzling her neck.

"Yeah, well, maybe we'll have that many when you give birth to them," Rose said, tipping her head to give him better access.

"Come on, Rose. I want a _big_ family. Lots of little Roses running around and telling me what to do. Wouldn't that be brilliant?"

"We'll see," Rose replied, secretly delighted that the Doctor wanted children. She had been a little afraid to broach the subject with him before this.

They walked down to the main floor to find the real estate agent standing before the stone fireplace in the living room.

"We're still going to take it," Rose said.

"Ah! Wonderful! Now we can haggle over price a little, but the owners have this listed at 300 000 pounds, and…"

Rose's face fell. So much money! The agent must have caught the look on her face.

"It's in a very desirable area of the city, and with so much land… That's actually a very reasonable price," he said.

Rose looked at the Doctor.

"Think we can get a mortgage out?" she asked, hesitantly.

"No need!" the Doctor said cheerfully. "Pete's lending us half a million pounds."

"_What!_" Rose cried in surprise.

"He came to me last week and said he knew we needed something to get started with, and he was giving us the money. I said we couldn't just take it, so he said it was a loan, to be paid back when we can. Always liked Pete…" the Doctor trailed off, grinning.

"Doctor, do you know what this means? We can buy this house!" Rose said excitedly.

"Like I said, we'll take it," the Doctor replied.

Rose threw herself into his arms, and they hugged. When Rose let him go, the Doctor leaned over and shook the real estate agent's hand.

"You've got yourself a deal," he said.

_Author's Note: Ok, so I have a good excuse for not posting yesterday, other than it was Friday night, and my brain switches off at 4:30 when I come home from work. I was all set to write, and then my boyfriend called, and we talked for longer than I expected. So, sorry to those of you who told me you were beginning to look forward to a new chapter every day. I don't know how much longer I can keep that up anyways! _

_Many thanks to all you wonderful people who left such long reviews. Long reviews are so nice, especially the ones that give you feedback on how to make the story better. I am always looking for ways to make my story better. _

_Tomorrow is Sunday, and there's no Doctor Who to look forward to. How sad. When is the new season of Stargate Atlantis starting? (goes to Gateworld to check) _


	8. Vanishing Act: part I

"They got us on junk patrol," Max said when he caught sight of the Doctor. The Doctor look off his jacket and hung it up near his desk. Max tipped back in his chair, and put his feet up on his desk, watching as the Doctor put his things away.

"You heard me, John?" he asked.

"Yes Max, I heard," he said. "Just out of curiosity, what's junk patrol?"

Max smirked.

"Forgot you haven't been working here very long. We all take turns trying to sort out the huge and mounting pile of bits and ends that nobody knows what to do with. We keep points. Three if you find something that works. Five if you can _make _it work. Ten if you can make it do something useful. Twenty if you correctly guess its function before making it work."

"You keep score?" the Doctor asked, amused.

Max shrugged.

"Sure. Office rivalry, and all that."

"How many points to do get of you clear the pile?" the Doctor asked.

Max just laughed.

"Don't be daft, mate. No one can clear the pile."

He got up, and led the Doctor to the far end of the basement, throwing open the door dramatically. Inside was a fairly large room, filled with tables on which was piled high all sorts of broken machinery and parts. On the far wall was a large chalkboard with names and numbers. The title at the top read _Welcome to Limbo_.

"Limbo?" the Doctor asked.

Max smirked, walking towards the chalkboard.

"Yeah. All this stuff, it's in limbo till we figure out what it is." Max grabbed a piece of chalk from the ledge beside the chalkboard, and stretching up, began to write _John _beside the other names.

"There. Now you're on the board." Max said, throwing himself down in what appeared to be an armchair.

"Max, this may be a stupid question, but why are there armchairs in here?" the Doctor asked.

"If you spend many hours in the same chair, it helps that they're comfy. Besides, they were donated down here by higher powers when they redid the offices on the 12th floor. nice, eh?"

The Doctor sat down in the chair beside Max's, and leaned back. Finding it very comfy indeed, he stretched out his long legs under the table, and folded his arms under his head.

"I could get used to this," he said, closing his eyes.

"Don't get too comfy," Max said, smirking. "We've got actual work to do." he pointed to the table, where piles of alien gizmos lay.

The Doctor grinned hugely.

"That's not work. That's just fun," he said.

--

"What you got there?" Max asked leaning over the Doctor's shoulder.

The Doctor offered Max the object that he had been turning over in his hands.

"It's missing a piece," the Doctor said, pointing to where the black finish was broken by a gaping hole.

"What you think it is?" Max asked. "A weapon of some kind? Could be a gun." He held the long thin object out, and pointed it at the Doctor like a gun.

"You humans!" the Doctor exclaimed. "You always think _everything_ is a weapon if you can't explain it. Not every race in the galaxy is as prone to warring amongst itself!"

"Alright," Max said, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I just thought… John, did you say 'you' humans?"

The Doctor avoided the question. He stood up and began to look around at the various piles, routing through them.

"Ahah!" he cried, holding up a piece triumphantly. "It's not perfect, but if I solder it in there, it should resonate the same way."

He make it to the table in two huge strides, and quickly fit the new piece in, securing it with a small hot iron.

"You know what this thing is for?" Max asked. "Declare now, or lose ten points."

The Doctor smirked.

"Of course I know what it's for! I was once at a concert on Zelnok Seven with these. Different sizes make different pitches, and there were hundreds of them. It felt as if the stars themselves were singing along."

"So, it's a musical instrument then?"

Instead of answering with words, the Doctor cradled the thing in one hand, and with the other gently stroked it. High, clear notes sounded. A small smile played on the Doctor's lips.

"Now, how does the beginning of that symphony go?" he murmured to himself. His fingers danced over the surface of the instrument, and the notes began to pour out. They had an ethereal, other-worldly quality to them as they soared and dipped and floated. The Doctor closed his eyes, lost in the music and the memories of Zelnok that it brought along with it. The piece he had chosen was part of an opera. In the story, the girl was trapped in a tower all her life, and caught sight of a star streaking across the sky. She fell in love with the star, and this particular piece was her lamenting that she and the star could never be together.

The last melancholy note seemed to hang in the air, before fading away to leave silence. The Doctor let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He was startled by a wild burst of applause. His eyes shot open.

In the room and spilling out into the hallway were people. They were all clapping, and several were wiping tears from their eyes.

"That was _beautiful_," a woman near the Doctor breathed. "How did you know it was going to do that?"

"I've heard a whole symphony of these things," the Doctor said, smiling wistfully at the instrument in his hand. "This one doesn't sound as good as it should, because I had to patch it up, and that threw the resonance off a little."

"Whole symphonies must be breathtaking," another person piped up.

"Yeah. Out under the sky, with the trees swaying in the breeze, and the stars overhead, and everyone listening as the music echoes off the canyon walls." The Doctor smiled at the memory.

"It's an alien artifact," a listener pointed out.

"So?" the Doctor asked, putting it on the table.

"So, how could you have heard it played?"

The Doctor smirked.

"_That _is a long story. So, how many points do I get for that?"

--

Rose sighed.

"We're not getting anywhere with this stuff, are we?" she asked.

Andy attempted a comforting pat on the shoulder, but with his strength, it was more like a wallop.

"Don't give up," he said.

"Never say die," chimed in Lily.

"It's always darkest before the dawn," Andy continued.

"Nothing ventured nothing gained," Lily supplied.

"Never say never ever," Rose said, laughing.

"Will you cut that out?" Marks snapped.

Rose made a face behind his back. They were only playing their favorite game to pass the time: thinking up as many ways as they could to say the same thing. And Marks was just being grouchy. Again.

"Please. This missing copper is not going to find itself," Marks said peevishly.

"We don't even know it was aliens," Lily pointed out. Lily was the tech expert of the team, and the one who had got them into the empty warehouses where they were now searching. No one was really sure what Lily had done before she came to Torchwood, but the fact remained that she could get in _anywhere_. There was no lock, no building, no firewall that she could not crack, pick, break, or hack.

"Your alien detector picked up some weird readings, didn't it?" Andy asked. He came up beside Lily and peered over her shoulder at the small screen. The effect of the huge man leaning over the smaller woman's shoulder would have been starting, except that Lily was used to it by now.

"I found some anomalies, yes. What do you think, Rose?"

Rose peered around the empty warehouse. Yesterday it had been filled with copper piping, and now it was totally empty. The light filtered through dusty windows, giving the entire space an eerie feeling.

"Who would want twenty four tones of copper pipe?" she mused. "It's not like copper is worth much or anything. You still getting those weird readings, Lil?"

"Only traces now," Lily said. She brushed a strand of flaming red hair off of her shoulder.

Marks scowled.

"Well then what are we doing here?" he demanded.

"Someone's in a bad mood today…" Andy said under his breath.

Lily nodded in agreement.

Marks disappeared into an adjoining room.

"What's with dear old Richard anyways?" Andy asked. "Ever since Rose got back he's been worse that usual."

"He doesn't like me," Rose said with a sigh.

"That's the weird thing," Lily said, tucking her alien detector into her bag. "When you were gone he was morose and silent. It was like he missed you or something."

"Hey! Is anyone going to help me, or do I have to do everything myself?!" Marks yelled from the other room.

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Richard Marks. Anomaly number one. I'll go." She trotted over to the room, pausing in the doorway and leaning on the frame. The room had obviously been missed by the thieves. It was still full of copper piping in stacked boxes.

"Marks? You in here?" she called.

"I'm over here, Tyler," he replied, standing up. He was holding a length of copper pipe. "It seems perfectly ordinary. Just copper, like all the rest. Why would anyone want this?" he asked.

Rose shrugged.

"And how did they empty an entire warehouse without anyone finding out?" she picked up a length of pipe from the box, and got a static shock.

"Ouch!" she cried, dropping it back into the box, where it landed with a clatter.

Marks frowned.

"That happened to me too. Static shock. There must be a lot of charge in the air."

"Yeah." Rose turned her head suddenly. "Do you hear that?"

"No," Marks replied. "Hear what?"

"That strange buzzing." Rose cocked her head to one side.

Marks paused for a moment.

"Yeah I hear it. What is that? Torrent! DiMatto! Where are you guys?"

"We're here," Andy said, arriving at the door just in time to see Rose and Marks disappear in a flash of blue light, along with every box of copper piping in the room.

--

The Doctor strolled into the main lobby of the Torchwood tower, hands deep in his pockets. Ahead of him, Max was walking at a quick pace, his sneakers making a dull thud on the polished tile. They walked up to the main desk, where Max leaned nonchalantly.

The secretary looked up, and smiled.

"Maxie! Don't see you in the light much. What you doing up here?"

"I came to see you, dollface," Max said, winking at her. "Listen, if you're free for dinner tonight, I thought you and I might find a nice romantic table for two, and…"

"What are you really here for?" she cut him off, smiling indulgently.

"Can't I just come up here to see you?" Max asked, pouting.

"No. You always want something."

"Well, sometime I should come up here just to prove you wrong. Unfortunately, this is not that time. Package here for Mr. Banks. Can you see that he gets it?"

"Sure, Maxie. No problem." She smiled, and held out her hand for the Doctor's instrument.

"Tell him he will be interested in this one," Max instructed.

The girl frowned.

"Max… you're always sending him things you think he might be interested in. But they always end up being junk and he sends them back and yells at me over the phone."

"This one's not junk. Tell him to stroke it."

"Tell him to _what?" _the secretary asked.

"Stroke it. It will make sense when he gets it. Please? For me?" Max smiled and fluttered his eyelashes.

The girl laughed.

"Only for you, Sweetie," she replied.

Max grinned, and left the table.

The Doctor watched the proceedings, amused.

"You always sweet-talk the receptionist?" he asked.

Max shrugged.

"What can I say? Michelle's hot for me."

"And yet, she wouldn't go out to dinner with you."

"Don't ruin the moment, man. Just because you've got a gorgeous fiancée doesn't mean you have to rub it in that I am pathetically single," Max lamented.

"So that's standard procedure, to send Banks interesting stuff we find?" the Doctor asked.

They were waiting for the elevator to take them back to the basement, but it was taking a long time.

"Well, not really," Max admitted. "But I am assuming his office supervisor job is very boring, so I send him things that I think he will think is interesting. Like your instrument for instance."

"Very kind of you," the Doctor said.

Max grinned.

"Yeah. I'm a regular fount of kindness, aren't I?"

A crowd of people at the other end of the lobby caught their attention.

"I wonder what's going on there?" Max asked.

"My Spidy-senses are tingling," the Doctor commented.

Max looked at him very strangely.

"Eh?" he asked.

"You know. Spider-man? The comic book hero? His Spidy-senses tingling whenever there's trouble?" the Doctor asked.

Max looked blank

"Never heard of him. And I read comic books."

"No Spider-man here? Blimey. I could make a fortune," the Doctor said. They were now quite close to the crowd of people. They were all standing around two others, who were leaning against each other for support. A huge Latino man, who looked as though he used to be muscle for the Mafia, and a petite redheaded woman. The Doctor recognized them as Andy DiMatto and Lily Torrent from Rose's team.

Lily caught sight of the Doctor above the crowd.

"John!" she called. The crowd parted to let him through. "John! Thank goodness!" she said. She looked frightened, and anxious.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, suddenly concerned. "Where's Rose?"

"That's just it!" Andy said. "She and Marks are gone."

"What do you mean, gone?" the Doctor demanded, an old fear gripping his heart.

"Just vanished! We were looking for the copper that went missing last night. It's been going missing all over the city. And she and Marks went into another room, and when we came, they just vanished in a flash of blue!" Lily buried her face in Andy's chest, and burst into tears. He rubbed her back soothingly, but he looked shaken up himself.

The Doctor turned on his heals, and practically ran to the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Max panted, running after him.

The Doctor's eyes blazed.

"I lost her once. I'm not going to let it happen again. I'm going to go rescue Rose!"

_Author's Note: Hmmm… this took me in a different direction than I wanted to go. I didn't plan on ending this chapter with a cliffhanger, but then the conclusion to this subplot seemed too long for a single chapter. The reason this chapter took me three days to write instead of just one was that I was totally blocked trying to figure out what happened next. I know what I want to happen in the long run, it's just writing myself to that point that's the problem. But now I know where this is going in the short term, so that's good. And you won't have to wait that long for the next chapter: I already have it all planned out! _

_I'm thinking the Torchwood teams are like SG Teams on Stargate. They are made up of 4-6 people with specific skills, that run around chasing aliens and investigating alien activity. Like Jack's team, only there are lots of them. Rose's team consists of: her, the alien expert, Richard Marks, the weapons expert, Lily Torrent, the tech expert, and Andy DiMatto, the muscle. _

_Thank you to everyone who left reviews for the last chapter. I am totally getting spoiled with the amount and length of these reviews! You are going to ruin me for normal writing! Not that I mind… :-) _


	9. Vanishing Act: part II

"Tell me everything," the Doctor said, scrutinizing Rose's teammates. The redheaded one, Lily, took a breath, and started talking.

"We came around the corner. Rose and Marks were in this room filled with boxes. Then, they both just vanished in a big flash of blue. One minute there, one minute gone. How could this happen?" she looked shaken.

The large man, Andy, who looked as though he had once been employed by the Mafia, put an arm around her frail shoulders.

"It's going to be ok, Lil. We'll find them."

"How?" she asked. "There was no trace of them. I checked my scanners. All that was there was the residual trace that was in the rest of the building."

"So," the Doctor cut in. "We can safely assume that whoever took what was in the rest of the building took Rose and Marks as well. What _was_ in the rest of the building?"

"Copper piping. Like the kind used for drains," Andy said.

"Did you notice anything unusual? Anything at all?" the Doctor asked.

"Well…" Lily scrunched up her nose, thinking. "There was a sort of buzzing in the air, right before they disappeared. Like when you stand too close to a speaker at a concert, and your hearing goes a little."

Andy nodded.

"Yeah, and I got a static shock from the door handle. In fact, I heard Marks say he got a shock from the pipe."

"Copper pipe. Static charge in the air. High pitched ringing. A blue flash of light. Think, think, think!" the Doctor began to pace, his head in his hands. "Come on brain! Static charge and ringing, and blue. What do they have in common? What do they… Oh. Oh, that is brilliant." He turned to the others, grinning. "That's very clever, if I do say so myself."

"You going to explain your flash of brilliance to the rest of us mere mortals?" Max asked impatiently.

"Have you figured out why they wanted Marks and Rose?" Lily asked.

The Doctor shook his head.

"They didn't want them. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got into trouble accidentally. Typical Rose, actually. You said there was a static charge. That must have been the marker for the particle beam. You see, by themselves, particle beams can't do much. They need something to lock onto. And what they lock onto is things that have been negatively charged. So you negatively charge something, and then you send down the particle beam, and it only picks up the charged stuff." He stopped for breath.

"That was the shock then?" Max asked. "Someone negatively charging the copper?"

"Right. But Rose and Marks were close enough that they got charged as well. That was the buzzing in your ears. The static in the air was building up as a byproduct. Oooh, that's smart. You could steal stuff right from people's noses, and they wouldn't even notice."

"So where are Marks and Rose?" Andy asked.

"Well, particle beams are proportionately strong to the distance you are away from the object you want to pick up. The farther you are away, the wider the beam to pick up more stuff. From the way it picked up a bunch of boxes and two people, it must have been coming from space."

"Are you saying Rose and Marks have been… abducted by aliens?" Max asked.

"Is that so strange?" the Doctor said. "You work for an interplanetary organization that studies aliens."

"Well, yeah, but I mean, no one's ever been _taken_ before!" he argued.

The Doctor shrugged.

"Like I said, it was probably an accident. The problem now becomes, how do I get to the ship without a TARDIS?"

"A what?" Andy asked.

The Doctor was looking around the R&D department for ideas.

"My TARDIS was my motor. But I don't have it any more. So, how do I get there?"

"Well," Max said, thoughtfully. "You said the beam was attracted to negatively charged stuff, right?"

"Yeah. Negatively charged copper, in this case." The Doctor suddenly smiled.  
"Ohhhh! Max Davenport, I like you! That's brilliant. All we need to do is find some copper and negatively charge it."

"How are we going to do that?" Max asked. "It's not as if we can move the electrons in the atoms or anything."

The Doctor's face suddenly broke into a huge smile.

"No, Max, we're not going to do that. We're going to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow!" he paused for a minute. "Blimey. Haven't said that in a long time. But first, we need some copper."

Lily darted over to a desk, and snatched up a pickle jar that was full of pennies.

"Will this work?"

"That's good. Now, we need to find something to reverse the polarity," the Doctor said.

"Reverse the polarity of the neutrons? But that's rubbish. Neutrons are neutral. They have no polarity," Max argued.

"Exactly. So, we push them just a little bit to one side, and they become negative. See?" the Doctor said.

"No," grumbled Max. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Are you going to argue physics with me, or are we going to rescue my fiancée and her rather unpleasant teammate?" the Doctor asked.

"Fine. Whatever. But when this is over, you're explaining this all to me. Slowly." Max said.

The Doctor was looking around again. He groaned.

"This would be so much easier if I had my sonic screwdriver!" he moaned.

"You need something sonic?" Max asked. "What about the sonic disrupter?"

"You have a sonic disrupter and you didn't tell me?" the Doctor cried.

Max shrugged.

"Sorry. Didn't know you were interested. It's not good for anything much. We used it to open locked doors."

"So _that's_ how you got through my special locks. Cheater," Lily said.

"Try deadlock sealing it next time," the Doctor said. "Max, go get it."

Max sprinted away, while the Doctor took the jar of pennies, and tipped it onto the floor. Max came back, holding the disrupter. The Doctor took it, and pointed it at the pennies.

"This will take longer than if I had my screwdriver. My screwdriver is much more precise than this thing. Right you lot, stand back."

A buzzing filled the air. Max, Lily, and Andy stepped back, while the Doctor stayed close to his pile of pennies.

"What's your plan?" Andy called out.

"Don't have one," the Doctor replied, with a cheeky grin, before a flash of blue light engulfed both him and the pennies.

--

Rose smiled, and leaned back against the cold metal wall of the cell that they had put her and Marks into.

"Think something's amusing, do you?" he asked.

Rose shrugged.

"I was just thinking this is déjà vu, actually. Just like old times."

"Get stuck in alien space ships often?" he asked snarkily.

"I used to, yeah," Rose replied. "It's getting a bit cliché, actually."

"Yeah, well I want to go home. What are they going to do with us?"

"Dunno," Rose said. She pulled her knees up to her chin.

"How can you be so calm? We just got put in a cell by aliens!" Marks snapped.

"I know. I just… this isn't my first time," Rose smiled again.

A guard with a huge helmet marched up to their door.

"You will come with me," he instructed, unlocking the door.

Rose and Marks marched between the two guards as they lead them to what was obviously the command center.

"Commander. Here are the trespassers," the guard said.

The commander stood, facing the huge screen on the far wall that showed that the ship was in orbit over Earth. Then, the figure turned.

It was a female, with wild, twig-like hair, and a long beak of a nose. It was obvious from the way the others shot glances her way that she was considered very attractive to her own species.

"Why are you trespassing on my ship?" she asked, her voice musical.

"We didn't come here on purpose," Rose said. "We were beamed up by accident. Come to think of it, why were _you _stealing from earth?"

"I will ask the questions, human," the commander said, calmly.

"Not 'human'. Rose Tyler. That's my name," Rose said firmly. She didn't fancy being called 'human'.

"And I am Commander Vessa of the Battlebird Hotirik. Now, Rose Tyler, what is it you want on my ship?" she asked.

"Nothing," Rose replied. "I don't want anything to do with your ship. I and my teammate are here by accident. But now that we _are_ here, you didn't answer my question either."

Commander Vessa shrugged her delicate shoulders.

"Earth is primitive. It does not even notice that some of its metals are gone. We needed them more than you. "

"That's no reason to steal like a… a pirate!" Rose argued. "Now you could have asked, and we could have traded for the things that you need."

"And your authorities would have dealt with one such as me? In my experience, humans are not very hospitable."

"Great," Marks muttered. "We have a reputation."

Rose ignored him.

"Look, you can just give it back, return us to our planet, and we can forget the whole thing happened," Rose offered.

Commander Vessa laughed. The sound was like water gurgling over stones.

"A most generous offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline," she said.

"But you can't just go around taking things!" Rose said.

"She's not wrong, you know," a voice said from the doorframe.

Rose grinned.

"About bloody time you got here," she called.

The Doctor leaned against the doorframe, his hands deep in his pockets.

"You seemed to be doing fine by yourself, actually," He replied.

"I learned from the best," Rose replied, grinning.

Marks groaned.

"Great. The jailbird boyfriend. That's just what we needed. Can you two cease and desist flirting until _after_ we get out of this mess?"

"What would be the fun in that?" the Doctor asked. He began to walk towards where Rose stood. Instantly, a guard had a weapon in his face. The Doctor looked mildly annoyed. "Shove that thing somewhere else," he said, knocking it aside.

"Who are you?" Commander Vessa demanded.

"I'm Dr. John Smith. Rescue party. How do you do, Commander?" the Doctor said politely.

"More humans on my ship!" the Commander exclaimed. "Our security is getting disgustingly lax."

"Don't blamed them. I hitched a ride on your particle beam. Very nice, by the way. Old fashioned, but effective. However, Rose is right. You can't just go around plundering. It's against the Shadow Proclamation."

"What do you know of the Shadow Proclamation, human?" Commander Vessa sneered.

The Doctor shrugged.

"I was there to help form it."

"You're lying," the Commander said. "Humans were in their infancy when the Shadow Proclamation was formed." She stared hard at the Doctor. "Unless you're not human…?" she picked up a device, and scanned him. "Human, and yet… not human."

"I'm a human/Time Lord metacrisis," the Doctor said.

"Time Lord! What kind of fool do you take me for?" the Commander asked, laughing again.

"Do you want me to answer that?" Rose murmured. But the Commander did not seem to have heard her.

"Time Lords are a myth," she continued. "A children's story."

"Yet here I am. Hello!" the Doctor waved.

Commander Vessa shook her head, checking her instruments again.

"Metacrisis? That is not possible."

"No, it's just not _probable_," the Doctor corrected. "And under the Shadow Proclamation, plundering in strictly forbidden. You said this was a Battlebird. What is a ship of the fleet doing plundering?"

Commander Vessa looked slightly embarrassed.

"I didn't have a choice," she said. "My ship is in need of repair so that we can get home."

"So you need all the copper to repair your ship?" Rose asked.

"Correct. You were not supposed to be alerted to our presence."

"But why do you need so much?" Marks asked, speaking for the first time. "That room we were in, it had tones and tones of copper there."

"The beam was also damaged. We could not set a limit."

"You mean it's taking all the copper in the world?" the Doctor asked, suddenly alarmed.

"No. We will shut it off before it does that," the Commander said.

"But that room was almost full when we were in there," Rose said suddenly. "And that was several hours ago."

"Commander, if you don't stop that beam right now, it will begin to damage the Earth's structural integrity," the Doctor said.

The Commander frowned, and turned to her officer, barking orders. She checked a screen.

"You are correct, Dr. Smith. It has progressed with greater speed that we thought. We have much more of the mineral than we need. Shut it down!" she called to her officers.

"Now," the Doctor said. "What about if you take the copper you need, and return the rest, and us, and go home?"

"It will take us some time to complete the repairs," the Commander said, skeptically.

"Not with me helping," the Doctor replied.

--

With a flash of blue light, the Doctor, Rose, and Marks, appeared in the lobby of Torchwood Towers.

Rose and the Doctor turned to each other, grinning.

"Just like old times, eh?" the Doctor said.

Rose laughed, and pulled the Doctor in for one of the giant bear hugs that they had been so accustomed to giving each other after their adventures in time and space.

"It is now," she whispered in his ear.

Marks scowled at them darkly.

"_Please_ hold off on the public displays of affection," he said.

The Doctor and Rose ignored him. The Doctor leaned in, and lightly kissed her lips.

"Glad you're ok," he whispered.

"Me too," she replied.

"Rose!" Lily shrieked from across the room. She ran and threw her arms around the other woman. "You're ok!"

"Yeah," Rose said, laughing.

"I'm ok, too," Marks pointed out. Andy came striding up, and put his arm affectionatly around Marks' shoulder.

"Life wouldn't be the same without you, Richard you old sour puss," he said.

A smile flitted over Marks' face, and he shoved Andy's arm off his shoulder.

"Same to you, DiMatto," he replied.

People crowded around, all talking at once. They separated Rose and the Doctor, pushing him farther away from her.

Frowning, the Doctor pushed his way back. He needed to talk to Rose. He had come to a decision about something.

"Rose, that's it," he said.

Rose looked at him curiously.

"What's it?"

"I can't take it any more. You're not running off on any adventures until we get married."

"What?" Rose sputtered.

"We're getting married. Right now," the Doctor declared. He seized Rose and swept her up in his arms, kissing her until they were both breathless. "I'm not waiting until you get captured by another alien. I'm done with waiting. I waited too long to tell you that I loved you, and I almost missed my chance. If it hadn't been for the universe coming apart at the seems, I might never have gotten to tell you. Well I'm not making the same mistake twice. We are finding someone who will do the ceremony, and we are getting married _right now_."

All around them there was silence, but the Doctor dutifully ignored it.

"But Doctor," Rose said, rather dizzily, "I don't have a dress. I always wanted to get married in a white dress."

The Doctor hadn't considered this. He thought for a moment.

"You have 24 hours to find a dress, Rose Tyler. At this time tomorrow you will be my wife."

The Doctor suddenly became acutely aware that they were surrounded by listening people. Several of the women sighed happily, and the men chuckled and elbowed each other. Everyone was smiling. Rose laughed, and hugged him again.

"How could I say no?" she asked.

The Doctor looked over Rose's head at all the people surrounding them.

"You're all invited of course."

--

"Do you, John David Smith, take Rose Marion Tyler to be your wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in heath, for richer for poorer, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," the Doctor said, looking into Rose's face. She was smiling, her eyes so full of love that the Doctor's single heart skipped a beat.

"Speak your vow," the official instructed.

The Doctor took a deep breath. He had been thinking for a long time about what he would say, and he through he had it just about right. He turned to face Rose.

"I'm usually the one with all the words. We established early on that I've _definitely_ got a gob. But you, Rose Tyler, you make me speechless. I don't deserve you, I know that. But you stay with me, and I can't think why. You found me when I was broken, and you put me back together again. Twice. I've left you behind so many times, and you've always come back. No matter what the circumstances, you always came back. So this is my promise to you: I promise never to leave you behind again. I promise you that I will love you for the rest of my life. What is death, when not even the multiverse can keep us apart for long? I promise to go domestic, and live in a house with carpets and a mortgage. I promise that no matter what happens, it will be me and you together. Always." He took her left hand, and clasped it with his own, so that they linked in between him and Rose. "There was a custom among my people. An oath, which could not be broken. I make it to you now, Rose Tyler, goddess of time. Heart to heart, yours in life and death."

For a Time Lord, promising anything 'till death' was a very serious thing, but the Doctor had no qualms about promising it to Rose.

The official turned to Rose.

"Do you, Rose Marion Tyler, take John David Smith to be your husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in heath, for richer for poorer, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Rose said, her voice only a little bit shaky.

"Then speak your vow."

Rose looked shyly at the Doctor.

"Doctor. _My_ Doctor. You're mine now, for better or worse. No one else will replace you. _No one_." The Doctor realized what she meant. She was telling him that she didn't consider him a copy of the original any more. She was claiming him as her own. "You saw me when I was invisible. You looked at a shopgirl, and you saw the person I could become. You showed up in my life like a whirlwind, and it's never been the same. You have shown me so many amazing things, and we have had so many amazing adventures. But this is the biggest adventure of all. I promise never to stop loving you, no matter how many stupid, rude things you do, or how patronizing you can be sometimes. I promise to never let you feel like you are alone in this world again. I promise to run when you grab my hand. But most of all, I promise you forever again. Just remember, this is my choice, and you can't make me change it." she took a breath, and stared down at their clasped hands. "Heart to heart. Yours in life and death," she murmured.

The official looked puzzled. Those were the strangest vows _he_ had ever heard. Nevertheless, he was determined to continue.

"Have you the ring?"

The Doctor fumbled in his pocket, and pulled out two gold bands. He have one to Rose. Letting go of her left hand, he slid the ring onto the third finger of her left hand.

"With this ring, I thee wed," he said.

Rose took his left hand and put the thick gold band onto his finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed," she repeated.

The Doctor looked down at Rose. For only having 24 hours to find a dress, she was stunning. She had done some emergency shopping with Jackie, and was now wearing a long white dress made of some sort of shiny material that caught the light. It swept off the shoulder, leaving one bare while the other had a thick strap keeping it up. It clung to all her curves, and fell to the floor. She truly was truly a goddess.

"By the power vested in me," the official said, "by her Majesty Diana I of England, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

The Doctor leaned forward, and brushed a kiss over Rose's lips. With a sudden wicked smile, Rose grabbed the lapels of his best navy blue suit, and pulled him in for a proper kiss, reminiscent of the one she had given him that day on the beach. The official cleared his throat, and they broke apart guiltily.

"Becoming a habit of yours," the Doctor murmured. Rose just grinned.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Smith," the official said.

Rose and the Doctor turned to face the audience, which erupted into a storm of applause. Rose saw several familiar faces in the crowd, including her mother, holding a bored looking Tony, and Pete, who grinned hugely. Max gave them a thumbs up, looking particularly uncomfortable in a suit and tie.

The Doctor and Rose walked down the aisle together. Suddenly, the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand.

"Run," he said.

And they did.

_Author's Note: So there's been a bit of a misunderstanding. When I said 'the end of this saga' I meant the conclusion of this subplot. I didn't mean the whole story! This story, as I said before, is not likely to end any time soon. I have so many other things planned for this story! Kids and jobs and learning to drive and… sonic screwdrivers. :-) _

_I've had this wedding planned since the beginning, but I couldn't find a place to put it till now. It seems very like the Doctor to just do it, instead of having the whole thing carefully planned. At first, no one was there in the audience, but then I changed my mind. Of course all of Torchwood has to be there!_

"_Reverse the polarity" was a suggestion, as was the aliens. I mean, what would Doctor Who be without aliens? Also, check out my trendy new chapter titles. I have decided that chapter titles are so much cooler than 'chapter 1', 'chapter 2', etc. _

_Don't touch that dial, there's more to come. Maybe not as soon as this one, but definitely more. Although please don't expect such a long chapter every time. It's exhausting writing this much! _


	10. French Fried

"So, how did you get a hotel overlooking the Seine on such sort notice?" Rose asked. "Or do I not want to know?"

The Doctor stretched languidly and gave her a lazy grin.

"You don't want to know."

Rose propped herself up on her elbow, and smiled back.

"Called in a few favours, did we?" she asked.

The Doctor shrugged.

"What's the point in having connections if you don't use them? And what better time than on your honeymoon?"

"Your impromptu honeymoon," Rose reminded him.

"Honeymoon all the same," the Doctor replied.

"You have connections already?" Rose asked.

"Sure. More than a few people owe me favours."

"Why's that?"

"Well I seem to have a handy touch fixing computers. And hacking into encrypted files. The things I find…"

"You're blackmailing people?" Rose asked, amused.

"Blackmail's a bit of a strong word…" the Doctor trailed off, looking pleased with himself. "But when I need to get a particularly nice hotel room, let's just say I know who to call."

"Ghostbusters?" Rose asked, giggling.

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Them too."

"The view from the window is beautiful," Rose said, plucking at a curtain so that she could see out.

"This view is even more beautiful," the Doctor replied. He was looking at her with a smile on his face.

The Doctor leaned over to kiss her.

Rose pulled away and made a face.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

Rose wrinkled her nose.

"Morning breath," she said.

The Doctor pushed her lightly, so that she fell back onto the pillows.

"I kiss my wife on the first morning of our honeymoon, and what does she say? 'Morning breath'." He pouted.

"Anyone ever tell you you're cute when you pout?" Rose asked.

The Doctor got up and headed for the bathroom.

"I've been told once or twice," he threw over his shoulder.

--

Rose looked skeptically at the map.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?"

The Doctor looked pained.

"Rose. I've travelled all of time and space. I've been to places and seen things you can only dream of. I think I can handle the Paris Metro."

Rose scowled.

"That's what you said last time. And we ended up totally lost in the middle of nowhere."

"Yes, well, that wasn't exactly the real Paris, was it? That was New Paris, and the Metro system was _totally_ different."

"Whatever," Rose shot back. "We were still lost."

"Well we're not going to get lost now," the Doctor said firmly.

Rose leaned back in her seat.

"We'll see," she replied.

The Doctor shook his head.

"You have no faith in me, do you?"

"In you, yes. In your navigation skills? Not so much. 12 months instead of 12 hours, remember?"

"That was just a slight miscalculation. You're never going to let me forget that, are you?" he grumbled.

Rose just smiled.

"Are we there yet?" she asked.

"No. We have to take the Metro for a while longer. Then we get out and take a special shuttle that leads us right to it."  
"Haven't you seen Versailles before?" Rose asked.

"Yes," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "But never with you."

"True," Rose agreed.

--

Rose looked way, way up. The building was _huge_! The two wings stretched out like open arms, welcoming the visitors to the Palace du Versailles.

"Wow," she breathed.

The Doctor grinned.

"Wait till you see the inside," he said, taking her hand.

They walked for a few minutes before reaching the entrance. The foyer was done in grand marble, and it buzzed with people and tour guides.

"Bonjour, Madame et Monsieur." A stocky looking man dressed in knee breaches and a striped shirt with an elaborate-looking cravat appeared at the Doctor's elbow. He beamed at them with a toothy smile.

"Hello," the Doctor said, politely.

"Englais?" the man asked. "How do you do? Do you require a tour guide?"

Rose shrugged.

"Why not?"

"My name is Stephan. I am a pageboy here at the Palace du Versailles. I serve His Imperial Majesty Louis the XV." The man gave a little bow.

"We're in for a show it seems," the Doctor commented.

"Please follow me." Stephen led them through room after room, explaining all the history. The Doctor put in his little comments here and there, mostly for Rose's amusement, and Rose admired the paintings and architecture. They were really stunning.

"This is a painting of Cardinal Richelieu," Stephen said, stopping in front of a huge painting with a man in red cardinal's robe on it.

"Ah Richelieu. Not a popular man," the Doctor commented.

"Wasn't he the guy in the Three Musketeers?" Rose asked. The Doctor raised his eyebrow. Rose shrugged. "I had a thing for Keifer Sutherland when I was younger."

"Yeah, same guy. Because of that book, Richelieu will always been seen as a bad guy. In real life, he wasn't so bad. Just a little manipulative. I said to him one time, 'if you're not careful, you'll be remembered as a villain for all of history.' He didn't believe me. So I said to him, 'ever heard of a guy named Alexandre Dumas?'"

Rose snickered.

Stephan gave the Doctor a very strange glance, and then continued with his speech, looking determined to finish it.

--

Stephen ushered them into a long room, which had windows on one side, and mirrors on the other, reflecting the light into dazzling shafts, so that there was not a corner that the light didn't penetrate. The light glinted off of many crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, causing rainbow sparkles to dance off of the walls.

"Oh!" Rose gasped.

Stephen smiled.

"Welcome to the hall of mirrors," he said. "It was built by Louis the XIV, and was the site of many of his opulent Masque balls.

"Bit stuck up," the Doctor whispered to Rose, "Thought he was the sun or something,"

Stephen heard the last remark.

"Oui, Monsieur. Louis the XIV was called the Sun King. In this room the Treaty of Versailles was signed, that officially ended World War One."

"It's amazing." Rose said. She walked to one of the full-length mirrors, and looked at herself in it.

"Penny for your thoughts," the Doctor said, coming up behind her.

"Just thinking about how many other women this mirror has reflected," Rose replied.

The Doctor took her hand, and squeezed it. He pulled her gently away as Stephen began to talk again.

--

Stephan lead them upstairs, to the bedchambers. Rose wasn't really listening to him, until something he was saying caught her attention.

"This was the chamber of the mistress of Louis the XV. Mme du Pompadour was an intelligent and beautiful woman, who was respected by such men as the playwright and noted thinker Voltaire."

Rose felt a chill run through her.

"Reinette?" she asked.

Stephen looked surprised.

"Yes, Madame. Not many people know that Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, the Marquise du Pompadour, was nicknamed 'Reinette', which means 'little queen'." Stephen moved on to the next topic, but Rose hardly heard him.

"You brought me to Reinette's house?" she asked the Doctor.

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably.

"I was hoping she wouldn't come up."

"We're on our honeymoon, and you take me to an ex girlfriend's palace?" Rose asked, fighting to keep her voice low.

"She was hardly an ex girlfriend," the Doctor replied, looking annoyed.

"Well she wasn't just a common acquaintance," Rose said.

Rose felt all the anger and jealously she had felt when the Doctor had left her behind flood into her. It had been hard to forgive him the first time, and now he had the insensitivity to bring her to the palace where Reinette had lived.

"She was just another woman I met on my travels," the Doctor argued.

"Are you saying that you knew Mme du Pompadour?" Stephen asked. "I'm sorry, Monsieur, but that's impossible. She lived over 300 years ago."

The Doctor glared pointedly at Stephan and he fell silent.

"She wasn't just some woman, Doctor. She kissed you, didn't she? Bloody French trollop. And you kissed her back."

"Rose, that's not fair. How often do you get kissed by famously handsome men? I mean, if Casanova kissed you, you would kiss back too, wouldn't you?"

"You're not even denying it," Rose snapped.

"Madame et Monsieur…" Stephen tried helplessly. The Doctor and Rose both ignored him.

"That was ages ago, Rose. Why are you bringing it up now?" the Doctor asked.

Rose felt like crying.

"Because you left me," she said. "You broke that glass, knowing that there was a chance you could never come back. You left me behind for her."

"I wasn't going to stay. I was going to find a way back."

"Don't lie. You knew there was a chance that you wouldn't be able to come back, and you went anyways. You left me behind with Mickey the Useless and a bunch of killer Robots. You went and _partied_!" Rose cried, her anger and hurt mounting with every word.

"I said I was sorry! And I did come back," the Doctor snapped.

"Yeah. With your tie around your head and a banana daiquiri in your hand. And you remember where I was? Tied to a table with a robot with a knife hovering over me. You had to go after her, didn't you?"

"It's one of those days, isn't it?" Stephan muttered.

"Reinette was an amazing woman," the Doctor said. "She was the consort of kings, the stuff of legend. Of course I was interested in her. But only in an intellectual way."

"I know you regretted not bringing her with you. Do you still regret it? Is that why we're here in her palace?"

"For heaven's sake!" the Doctor said angrily, running his hand through his hair. "Coming here wasn't about Reinette. Until this moment I had forgotten all about her. This was about taking you to see a beautiful, historical landmark."

"You didn't answer the question," Rose said coldly.

"You're being totally unreasonable," the Doctor shot back.

"_You left me behind!_" Rose said shrilly. "This isn't about flirting. It's not about blonds or kissing or mirrors or horses on spaceships. You left! You left without even thinking about it! You left without saying goodbye _yet again_! You were perfectly fine with the idea of a life without me!"

The Doctor took her gently by the shoulders.

"Rose. I think the last two years have proved that I can't live without you. I was wrong to leave you behind – again – and I'm sorry. But I promised never to do that again." He picked up her left hand, and kissed her shining gold ring. He looked down at her, his eyes blazing into hers. "Reinette is nothing. You are everything."

"You said she was an amazing woman," Rose sniffed.

"You are a time goddess. She is nothing. And you saw her. If a woman like that is nothing…" he smiled at her.

Rose laughed, and sniffed again.

"Charmer," she said.

The Doctor brushed a stray tear off of her cheek.

"So, have we got that straightened out?" he asked gently.

"You sure you're not going to leave me again?" Rose asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Those days are over. No French Marquise will ever drive us apart again."

"Trollop," Rose giggled.

The Doctor smiled, and kissed her forehead.

"Don't call names," he said, smiling. He turned back to Stephan. "So. Shall we continue the tour?"

Stephen threw up his hands in despair.

"Why?" he asked hysterically. "You knew Mme du Pompadour personally. Your wife is jealous of her. You had conversations with Cardinal Richelieu and advised Louis the XIV on how to build this place!" he have a frantic laugh.

"I think we'd better take him back to the main desk," said the Doctor kindly. "He seems to be a little overwhelmed."

--

Rose sighed happily as she drove the car into the entrance of the long driveway that led to their house.

"It's good to be home," she said.

The Doctor nodded.

"France was nice, and being on our honeymoon was _definitely_ nice, but I missed this place," he agreed.

The house came in sight. Rose started laughing.

"I love that door," she said.

The Doctor nodded, a smile spreading over his face.

"Me too. So, Mrs. Smith, what say we go inside?"

"Your wish is my command, Mr. Smith," Rose replied.

"I could get used to that," the Doctor replied, winking at her.

"Cheeky," Rose said, getting out of the car. She was almost to the door when the Doctor called out to her.

"Rose, wait!"

She froze, her hand reaching for the door knob.

"Why? What's wrong?"

The Doctor sprinted up to her.

"Nothing," he replied, unlocking the door himself and throwing it wide open. "I just wanted to carry you across the threshold this first time."

He bent down and swooped her into his arms. Laughing, Rose put her arms around his neck, and kissed him thoroughly.

The Doctor grinned, and carried her across into the house.

"Welcome home, Rose," he whispered into her ear.

_Author's Note: This was just a random idea. Reinette is a bit of a sensitive issue with Rose I think. It plays into her anxiety about the Doctor leaving her. They were already on the honeymoon in France when this idea came to me. And I thought… why not? Poor Stephan though. I feel a little sorry for him. _

_All the stuff about Reinette is accurate, as far as I can make out. She was a pretty amazing woman, if you research her. She went from being a merchant's daughter to being the mistress of the King of France. And she was intelligent and witty and beautiful. A deadly combination. No wonder Rose was jealous. Thank God for Wikipedia and Google images. What would we do without them? _

_For those of you who don't get the Richelieu joke, Alexandre Dumas write "the Three Musketeers". And Yes, Keifer Sutherland is brilliant. _


	11. Full of Surprises

"Absolutely not," Rose said, looking less than impressed

"Absolutely not," Rose said, looking less than impressed.

The Doctor pulled a face.

"Why not?" he asked, looking up at her expectantly from the driver's seat of their car. "Come on, Rose. Let me drive."

"No way," she said firmly.

"Why not?"

Rose put her hands on her hips.

"I value my life too much."

"Come on, just get in," the Doctor coaxed.

"Doctor. I was inside the TARDIS when you tried to drive it. We ended up everywhere but where we wanted to be, remember?"

"That's not fair. A TARDIS usually takes six people to drive, and I was all by myself. Of course it was a rattle-n-crash job."

"Doctor…"

"Rose, come on. I drive a car better than I drive a TARDIS," the Doctor wheedled.

"Do you even know how to drive a car?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll have you know I had a car once."

"Don't tell me. You used to drive it around the TARDIS when you got tired of walking," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"Sarcasm will get you nowhere, Mrs. Smith. No, I had one when I was exiled to Earth in my third regeneration."

Rose raised an eyebrow.

"You're full of surprises. You were exiled to Earth?"

"Yep. I worked for UNIT. And I had a car."

"Is that why you hate UNIT so much?" Rose asked.

"What, my car? No, the car was completely innocent in that matter. And I don't hate UNIT, I just… don't like being saluted."

"Are you _sure_ you know how to drive?" Rose asked.

"Yes, dear," the Doctor said with a longsuffering sigh.

Rose looked skeptical, but she climbed into the passenger seat.

"If you kill me, I will never forgive you," she said.

The Doctor grinned.

"Fair enough." He held out his hands for the keys, and Rose handed them to him reluctantly.

"In for a penny, in for a pound," she said with a sigh.

The Doctor put them into the ignition, and turned. The car started. He turned the steering wheel, and stepped a little too hard on the gas, causing the car to lurch. Rose covered her face with her hands.

"Why do I get myself into these things?" she moaned.

"Come on. It was an honest mistake. Everyone's entitled to those," the Doctor replied.

"We're going to kill people," Rose muttered. "We're going to knock someone down, and go to jail."

"Don't be silly. This is fine. It's just that technology has advanced since I drove in the '70s."

"Stop at the lights, Doctor," Rose said, fighting to keep her voice calm. "Stop. _Stop!_"

The car screeched to a halt.

"That light came out of nowhere," the Doctor complained. He turned the wheel, and the car moved into the lane. It was a busier street than before, and there were other cars all around them.

Rose clutched her seat belt, her knuckles white.

The car jerked again.

"Where's the clutch on this thing?" the Doctor asked.

Rose groaned.

"There is no clutch. It's an automatic."

"Oh. Right." The Doctor seemed to be doing all right going straight. Rose relaxed a little.

"Bessie," the Doctor said suddenly.

"What?" Rose asked.

"My car's name was Bessie."

"You gave your car a name?" Rose asked.

"Sure. Everything has a name. Even I do, as you found out. Maybe we should name this car," he said thoughtfully.

"Maybe you should concentrate on driving," Rose said queasily.

"What about Sally? Sally's a nice name. I knew a girl named Sally. She rescued me from 1969 while she was in 2007. It was a pretty brilliant scheme if I do say so…"

"Doctor!" Rose gasped.

"What?" asked the Doctor, looking a little confused.

"That was a stop sign. Normally you stop at those!"

The Doctor shrugged.

"I totally paused," he said.

There was a moment of silence.

"What about Frances? Frances is a good name for a car."

"Don't talk," Rose said through clenched teeth. "Just drive,"

The Doctor pouted, but he didn't say a word until they pulled into the driveway of Tyler Mansion.

"If I may be permitted to speak? We're here."

"Thank God," Rose breathed.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," the Doctor agued.

"I thought I was going to die," Rose said.

The Doctor sighed in an exaggerated manner.

"Rose, don't be silly. If I'd wanted to kill you, I would have gone faster," he said in a reasonable tone.

--

"That would work, except, well, it doesn't," the Doctor said, leaning back in his chair.

Max scowled.

"You're not even giving it a chance."

"Come on, Max! There's just no way around the Merovingian paradox. And you can't reverse engineer this kind of stuff."

"How do you think they got the microchip?" Max asked contemptuously.

"Oh come on. You are so not old enough to have invented the microchip," the Doctor scoffed.

Max's scowl grew

"I didn't mean me. I meant that it was reverse engineered using technology from Torchwood. Which is what we're trying to do now."

"Without thinking about the Merovingian paradox."

"_Yes_. In spite of your paradox."

"You know, it's called a paradox for a reason," the Doctor replied. "That means it can't be solved."

"It's not like people haven't said that to me before," Max shot back.

Rose hovered at the edge of their shared cubicle.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked.

The Doctor took his feet off of his desk.

"Rose! We need your opinion on something."

"No, John, we don't. It's impossible. You said so yourself," Max said sulkily.

"Rose does impossible fairly well," the Doctor said. He turned to her. "We need to make the navigation computer on this sub light engine work. It should, but it doesn't. It's coming up against the Merovingian paradox."

"I give up," Rose said. "What's the Merovingian paradox?"

"This navigation system was built to navigate mine ships through asteroid fields. There's a lot of minerals on asteroids, but it's dangerous to get to them. One of those asteroids could pummel a ship to pieces in no time. So they have high tech computers to navigate them. This one was broken, which is why the ship crashed on Earth, but I – " Max cleared his throat and the Doctor shot him an annoyed look. "But _we_ fixed it. We want to use it to. These babies aren't designed to do things against their base code. We want to reverse engineer it to make the world of earth computers better, but first we have to go against its base code. The easy solution is to change its code. But changing the code is something that the computer isn't designed to do. Hence the paradox part. You see the problem?" the Doctor asked.

"You want the computer to do something it's not part of what it's programmed to do, and it can't," Rose summed up.

Max looked impressed.

"How did you do that?" he asked

Rose shrugged.

"Years of practice. Am I right?" she asked the Doctor

"More or less." The Doctor said. "We can't reverse engineer it unless we change the base code, and we can't change the base code cuz that's not what it was supposed to do."

"What _was_ it supposed to do?" Rose asked, looking thoughtful.

"Navigate," Max said.

"Hmmm… so, you need to work within its parameters to get what you want, right?" Rose's tongue appeared between her teeth the way it did when she was thinking, and the Doctor resisted the urge to kiss her. She just looked so cute when she did that! He shook it off. He needed to concentrate.

"It navigates, does it? So you tell it where you want to go, and it takes you. Why don't you just ask it to take you to its base code?" Rose asked.

The Doctor's eyes widened. Why hadn't he thought of that before?

"Rose Tyler… you are… you are just the most brilliant human in the whole universe," he said, awed.

Max shot him a strange look.

Rose smirked.

"That's Rose Smith to you," she replied.

But the Doctor's mind was already speeding ahead at a million miles an hour.

"So, all we need to do is get the computer to navigate us to its base code. Then we can rewrite it so it will do what we want it to, and we totally circumvent the paradox. Rose, I love you,"

Rose grinned.

"Quite right too," she said.

Max looked enviously at the Doctor.

"How'd you manage to score a babe who was hot _and_ smart?" he asked.

Rose patted Max's cheek condescendingly.

"He caught me early, Maxie," she said.

"You know, Rose, on Vorak Three you would be worshipped as a queen?" the Doctor said thoughtfully, tapping the end of his nose with his pen. "Only the queens have intelligence. The others are just drones."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you could learn something from them."

"Where's Vorak Three?" Max asked suspiciously.

"Somewhere in… Russia," the Doctor improvised.

Max gave the Doctor another strange look.

"Come on, hotshot. You owe me lunch," Rose said, ending a potentially worrying conversation. She took the Doctor by his tie and pulled gently so that he followed her. He really should be more careful, but he never could watch his tongue, she thought fondly.

The Doctor shrugged over his shoulder at Max.

"Don't make any changes until I come back," he called.

--

As soon as they were out of Torchwood tower, Rose and the Doctor looked at each other.

"Chips?" the Doctor asked Rose.

Rose grinned.

"You read my mind, Martian boy. Chips!"

The Doctor laughed.

"I never could understand your fascination with deep fried potatoes till I became human. It's like suddenly my taste buds decided that they liked fats and salts a lot more than they used to."

"You should be careful bout how you talk about humans in front of Max," Rose said, taking the Doctor's offered hand.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because he's your partner, and you work with each other every day. He hears every one of your human cracks."

"He never thinks anything of it," the Doctor argued.

"Still. Maybe cut down on them?" Rose suggested.

The Doctor shrugged.

"Sure. If you think I should." He pointed to a small corner shop. "We stopping there?"

"Yeah sure. The chips are great there, we had them last week."

The shop was almost empty. Rose smiled at the woman behind the counter wearing a greasy apron.

"Two packets of chips, please," she said.

"Four quid and it's going to be a few minutes," she said, taking Rose's money.

Rose shrugged.

"Sure," she seated herself beside the Doctor, who had already sat down at one of the booths beside a large window.

He was idly watching passerbys, his head propped up on one hand.

"Elbows off the table," Rose teased.

"What are you, my mum?" the Doctor asked, not moving his elbow.

Rose knocked his hand, so that his elbow skidded across the table, and his head jerked forward from its lack of support.

"Oi!" he complained.

"You have no manners," Rose replied.

"And you're mean," the Doctor jokingly complained.

"Get used to it. You're stuck with me."

The Doctor made a face.

"Aren't I a lucky man?"

"Hey miss," the girl at the counter called. "You want some veg with those?"

Rose got up to go to the counter.

Restlessly, the Doctor got up.

"I'm going to wait outside!" he called to Rose over his shoulder.

Rose rolled her eyes, and turned back to the girl at the counter.

"Got your hands full with that one, haven't you?" the girl asked, casting an appreciative eye at the Doctor's retreating back.

"You have no idea. Can't sit still for longer than a minute."

"I know the type. Hard to keep em, isn't it?" the girl said.

Rose shrugged.

"He's just used to doing things all the time. You have no idea what it took for me to convince him to become domestic."

"Lucky," the girl said enviously. "Nobody really notices you when you work in a shop. Well, not blokes as fit as him, anyways."

"I used to work in a shop," Rose said.

The girl took in Rose's business clothes, and tasteful jewelry.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I was an ordinary shop girl, and boom! He comes into my life," Rose shook her head. "It's never been the same since."

The girl beamed.

"That gives me some hope," she said.

"Me too," Rose answered.

Behind the girl, a timer went off.

"Those are your chips," she said. She shoveled them into boxes, and carefully wrapped them in newspaper before handing the bag to Rose.

"Cheers," Rose said, walking out of the shop to find the Doctor.

The girl smiled.

--

The Doctor leaned against the side of the building. Sometimes, he hated being inside. It was a lifetime of never being in the same place twice, he supposed, that caused him to be restless sometimes. He tried to hide it, for Rose's sake, but sometimes the urge to be outside in the air was almost overpowering. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

The people streamed past him. This was a fairly busy corner, and people watching had always distracted him in the past. He watched as they walked past, seemingly consumed with their lives. It was interesting to think that unbeknownst to them, a whole universe of things were going on just above their heads. They had no idea what was going on. Humans. Sometimes their utter disregard for the goings on of the rest of the universe was relaxing to the Doctor. It meant that now that he was one of them, he didn't really have to worry about it either. Rose was right though, life was full of surprises. Just when he thought he had humans figured, they went and produced someone as amazing as Rose.

A woman with a high, blond pony tail walked past him. Her face was a blur, but the Doctor smiled. He remembered a time when he had studied the face of every blond woman, irrationally hoping that it would be Rose. He didn't have to do that any more, but it had become something of a habit to note the blonds who walked past him.

This one stopped in her tracks a few steps away from him. She turned slowly, a look of shock on her face.

The Doctor's eyes widened. That face! That face that he thought he would never see again!

She took a few steps forward.

"It's you!" she said. "It's really you!"

"Jenny?" the Doctor whispered.

_Author's Note: Serious writer's block ensued when I sat down to write this chapter. I mean, I know where I want this story to go, but it just wasn't going. Anyone who writes will understand what I'm trying to say. But I got inspired by reading my list of suggestions that people had given me. Thanks to whoever suggested driving – it was just the scene I needed for an opening :-) _

_I have to admit to an embarrassing mistake. When someone pointed it out to me, I was mortified! Last chapter, I said that the Treaty of Versailles ended World War Two. Of course, I meant World War One! I am deeply embarrassed, because I knew it was WWI, but for some reason, but WWII. Thank you to the person who pointed that out, and I changed it right away. I blame this all on the WWII course I took last semester. I got so used to writing WWII that I wrote it instead of WWI in this case. _

_Can anyone give me the names of all the companions the Doctor has had? Or a place where I can find them? I've been looking everywhere, and I can't seem to find a complete list. My reasons will become clear in later chapters (don't say anything, AsanteSanaSquashBanana!) _


	12. Generated Anomaly

_The Doctor's eyes widened. That face! That face that he thought he would never see again!_

_She took a few steps forward. _

_"It's you!" she said. "It's really you!" _

_"Jenny?" the Doctor whispered. _

"Dad!"

In two steps, the Doctor had Jenny in his arms. He held her securely, marveling that she was even there.

"But how…?" he asked, pulling away.

Jenny laughed delightedly.

"I can't believe I found you! I've been searching and searching for you, and here you are!"

"Oh Jenny," the Doctor hugged her again. It was unbelievable that she should be there. "You were dead. I saw you die," he said in her ear.

"I know," Jenny said. "I know I died. But then… I woke up again."

"I should have waited longer," the Doctor scolded himself. "I knew there was the possibility that you would regenerate."

"Regener-what?" Jenny asked.

Before the Doctor could answer, he was interrupted.

"…Doctor?"

The Doctor turned around, his arms still around Jenny. Rose was standing in the doorway of the shop, holding a plastic bag with their chips in one hand, and her purse in the other. Her face was full of confusion. The Doctor realized with a flash that she didn't know who Jenny was, and right now he was in a very compromising situation. He let go of Jenny.

"Rose!" he said, plastering a grin on his face.

"Doctor? What's going on?" Rose asked, taking a step forward.

"Rose, this is Jenny," the Doctor introduced.

"That's nice," Rose said uncertainly. "Now who's Jenny?"

Jenny thrust out her hand and shook Rose's enthusiastically.

"Are you another friend, like Donna?" she asked.

"Actually, I'm his wife," Rose said, a dangerous edge to her voice.

"Jenny, this is Rose. Rose, this is Jenny… my daughter."

Rose's eyebrows shot up, and her eyes grew round with surprise.

"You _daughter_?" she asked.

The Doctor could see that this whole situation would get away from him fast if he wasn't careful.

"She was… ah…. taken from my DNA. It was the way this race of people procreated. They used my DNA as a template to construct another living being – Jenny."

Rose visibly softened towards Jenny.

"No mum involved?" she asked cautiously.

"No, just Dad," Jenny said.

Rose looked relieved.

"Why am I not surprised?" she quipped. "Well, that's not the strangest thing that happened to us."

"And you were all ready to jump to conclusions," the Doctor chided Rose gently.

Rose pulled a face.

"What was I supposed to think, Mister? I walk out of the shop, and you're hugging another woman, who you then announce is your daughter." She poked the Doctor in the arm.

"Where's Donna?" Jenny asked, looking around expectantly.

The Doctor's face fell a little.

"She's… not here. What I can't figure out," he said, hastily changing the subject, "is how you got here. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that you're here. But… you died. You died in my arms and I couldn't save you."

A lump formed in the Doctor's throat, preventing him from saying any more. Losing all that was left of his family again was an extremely painful memory that he had tried to bury deep within his subconscious. Rose laid a comforting hand on his arm. He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, glad of her comfort.

"I know, Dad. But that's the thing. I woke up again. They tell me that's unusual."

"That depends on who you talk to," Rose said, with a sly look at the Doctor.

"You regenerated. That's brilliant!" the Doctor said.

"But she looks the same," Rose objected.

The Doctor shot her a questioning look.

"You didn't know who Jenny was until I introduced her," he pointed out.

Rose blushed.

"I… sort of remember her. I remember her from your memories, but there wasn't really a name attached to her. I… remember her better now – "

"Now that you're not jumping to all the wrong conclusions?" the Doctor asked.

"Something like that," Rose said. "I knew in the back of my mind that she was someone you knew, but I guess I let my jealousy take over just a little."

The Doctor gave her a warm smile, as if to reassure her that she need never be jealous.

"That's an interesting question, though," he said, tapping his nose thoughtfully with the end of his finger. "Why didn't you get a new body?"

Jenny frowned.

"I don't understand," she said.

"When I regenerated, my cells made themselves over again," the Doctor explained. "It was still me, but I looked different."

"It's true," Rose cut in. "When I met him, he had big ears and almost no hair."

"So the question is," the Doctor said, ignoring the crack about his ears. "How did you come back to life without your cells remaking themselves? You must have had just enough Time Lord DNA to repair your cells without remaking them. Interesting…"

The Doctor's stomach rumbled loudly.

Rose and Jenny exchanged glances, and started giggling.

"Why don't we call in sick for the rest of the afternoon, and take Jenny home?" the Doctor suggested.

Rose nodded.

"Good idea, I'm starving!"

--

"I've never had these before," Jenny said, picking up a chip and looking at it dubiously.

"Earth specialty," the Doctor replied. "Potatoes fried in grease. You won't find them anywhere else in the galaxy."

Jenny bit into a golden chip hesitantly. Her eyes widened, and she popped the whole chip into her mouth.

"It's really good!" she exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeah," the Doctor said. "Addictively so."

Rose came into the dining room, carrying a pitcher of water and plates.

"Oi! Don't start without me," she complained good-naturedly.

The plates were passed around, and they began to eat.

"It's a bit surreal, actually finding you," Jenny said, sampling some of the cooked vegetables. "After I woke up, I got to thinking about what you had said about us travelling together. It seemed like such a wonderful idea- going to the stars and seeing other places, and meeting other races…"

"She's your daughter alright," Rose said, smirking.

"I made up my mind to find you," Jenny continued. "So I found a ship, and started looking. But you're pretty hard to find. I wasn't having much luck, until I picked up on a strange energy signature. I think it was your ship, because it was on the planet where I was born as well. I followed it here."

"You followed the TARDIS's signal all the way here?" the Doctor asked, surprised.

Jenny shrugged.

"Sure. It was pretty tricky, but I managed to modify my ship so I could follow the signal."

"Did she tear a whole in the void?" Rose asked the Doctor, concern showing on her face.

The Doctor shook his head.

"If there was a tear, we would have felt the effects by now," he said.

"So how did you get across?" Rose said, turning to Jenny.

"I have no idea," Jenny replied. "I'm just so glad I found you, Dad. And you too, Rose."

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, a guilty look on his face.

"Weeeeeell, that's the thing, Jenny. You didn't really find me."

Jenny looked puzzled.

"What are you talking about? You're right here."

"What I mean is… that is to say…" the Doctor struggled. "I'm like you- a clone of the real Doctor. I'm a Human/Time Lord metacrisis made when he put his regeneration energy into his spare hand. Donna touched it, and when she did… I was grown."

"You're a clone?" Jenny asked. The Doctor nodded. "You're not the real thing?"

"I'm the real me, but I'm not him."

"So, are you my brother or my father?" Jenny asked.

"Now there's one for Jerry Springer," Rose muttered under her breath.

"I don't understand," Jenny said with a sigh. "You look like my dad, you sound like him, you remember me, but you're not him?"

"Yeah," the Doctor said with a sigh.

"So where's the other you?"

"In the other universe. You crossed universes. Did you know that?"

"No. I didn't think that was possible," Jenny said.

"It's not supposed to be. But maybe your ship was equipped for it."

"Like I said, I don't know," Jenny said. "I'm not really sure how I even know how to pilot it. I just do. Can I stay here?"

Rose smiled.

"You can stay here as long as you want," she said.

But the Doctor shook his head sadly.

"You need to go back," he said. "You need to go back across the void."

"Don't you want me here?" Jenny asked, her eyes suspiciously liquid.

The Doctor put both his hands on her shoulders.

"I would love to have you stay with us, Jenny. You're my daughter. But the other me, he needs you more."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"If I'm right, and I usually am, he's had to leave Donna. He'll be alone."

"Why would he leave Donna?" Rose said. "She seemed to love travelling with him."

"It was a two-way metacrisis. Meaning she got a Time Lord's consciousness. The human brain is not designed to deal with that amount of knowledge. I hope he didn't, but I'm afraid he might have had to wipe her memories."

"Wipe all her memories of travelling with him?" Rose gasped.

"Yeah," he said, sadly. "You have to understand, Rose, it might have been the only way to save her. But Jenny," turning to her, "If I'm right, he's got no one now. And that's not a good place to be in. He needs someone, if only to hold him back, to tell him to stop. You're family. He needs you."

Jenny looked at the Doctor closely, as if to gauge if he was telling the truth or not. Then, she gave a short, jerking nod.

"Ok," she said. "I'll find him, if he needs me."

The Doctor pulled Jenny into his arms and hugged her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But I have Rose and he has no one. I can't be that selfish," he said.

Jenny pulled away from him, and wiped a tear away from her cheek.

"Do I have to go right now?" she asked.

"We don't know how long the hole you came through will be open. The sooner the better."

She nodded.

"I'll show you where I hid my ship," she said.

--

"So how did you wind up getting called Jenny?" Rose asked, watching as the Doctor curiously investigated Jenny's ship. "It wasn't the Doctor. You should have heard the things he wanted to call our car."

"Donna named me. I'm a generated anomaly, so Donna suggested 'Jenny'. I like it."

"Me too," Rose said, smiling.

"Well, you've got an interesting ship here, Jenny. Seems it's capable of finding holes in the universes and going through them without any damage. Although, I wouldn't recommend it as a regular pass time." The Doctor said. "I tweaked a few of the systems, and checked things. You should be safe for your flight home."

"Tweaked them with what?" Rose asked.

The Doctor looked shifty, but didn't answer.

"I've also retrofitted it with a tracking device that should help you find the other Doctor relatively easily," he continued.

Jenny looked at the ship, and the flung herself into the Doctor's arms.

"It's not fair," she said. "I just found you, and now I have to do it all over again."

"I know," the Doctor said, stroking her hair, "But he needs your more than I do. He needs someone to keep him sane, and you're just the person."

"I don't want to go," she said.

The Doctor smiled sadly, and hugged her tightly.

"I love you, Jenny," he said softly.

Jenny sniffed.

"I didn't know what love felt like till you loved me, Dad," she replied.

She moved out of his arms, and hugged Rose.

"It was nice to meet you," Rose said.

"Yeah. It was. I'm glad you're here to look after Dad."

Rose smiled knowingly.

"You look after the other one, yeah? And tell him… tell him we're happy here."

"I will," Jenny promised.

She moved to the Doctor again, and kissed his cheek.

"Love you, Dad," she whispered.

Then, she ascended the ladder into her ship.

The Doctor and Rose watched it take off, their arms around each other.

--

"Doctor? There's something I don't understand," Rose said. She was sitting up in bed, comfortably propped up on pillows.

The Doctor looked up from the book he was reading.

"What's that, Rose?" he asked, taking his thick-rimmed specs off.

"If I know all your memories, why couldn't I remember Jenny?"

The Doctor looked thoughtful.

"I suppose it's like you said. You sort of knew her, but it was in the back of your mind. I have a lot of memories that I've shared with you. You can't be expected to recall every single one of them."

"But I didn't know things about her. She had to explain her name to me. Shouldn't I have known that?" Rose asked, her brow furrowing.

"You probably would have, if you would have concentrated on it. You have to let your brain acclimatize to having so much information in it," the Doctor replied.

Rose laughed.

"So it's the fault of my puny, human sized brain?"

"Something like that," the Doctor agreed. He picked up his book again.

"I will say this for you, Doctor," said Rose, pulling his book down so that he was looking at her. "You sure have a weakness for blonds."

"You can say that again!" the Doctor replied, flinging his book aside.

_Author's Note: I was surprised at the number of people who were excited for Jenny. I mean, I know I liked her, but I didn't know if she was widely excepted by the fan community. I mean, when the spoiler came out that the Doctor had a daughter, I think all of us Rose/Ten people were a little bit worried. But it turned out for the best. I would really love to see Jenny as a permanent companion for the Doctor in the show. It would make a totally different dynamic if he was travelling with his daughter. And after all, he traveled with his granddaughter, Susan. They can't have let Jenny live for no reason, can they?_

_Thanks to everyone who recommended a place to find a complete list of companions! I ended up using Wikipedia, the fount of knowledge that it is. I now have the whole list, including the debated ones, and know a lot more about classic companions than I did before. For instance, I now know that the definition of a companion is up for debate. Is Sara Kingdom a companion even though she was only there for two episodes? Would Sally Sparrow be considered one, even though she hardly met the Doctor? Does a companion have to stay on for a relative amount of time to be considered a companion, or is it measured in the importance they have in the plot? Very interesting stuff. _

_So now I have my list, which I can use for my own evil purposes (mwhahaha). _

.


	13. Basic Principles

"I can't believe I'm letting you do this again," Rose grumbled.

"How am I supposed to learn the proper way to drive if you never let me?" the Doctor demanded, scowling at the road.

Rose's knuckles were white from gripping her arm rest.

"You're going to get us both killed," she said shakily.

"Don't be silly. We're fine," the Doctor said, making a sharp right hand turn the wrong way onto a one way street. Rose closed her eyes.

The Doctor turned again, off the one way street.

"That car was going the wrong way," he observed.

"It was a one way street," Rose said faintly.

"Ah," replied the Doctor. "That explains it then." He drove in silence, avoiding the other cars and even managing to stop properly at a stoplight.

"What about Mary?" he said suddenly.

Rose looked up.

"Mary who?" she asked.

"Mary. As a name for this car," the Doctor explained.

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Why do we have to name it anything? Why can't we just call it 'car'?" Rose asked.

The Doctor shook his head.

"You are completely devoid of imagination, you know that?"

"Yes," she answered back.

"We have to have a name for the car," the Doctor explained patiently, "Because I'm used to travelling in a sentient vehicle, and it feels wrong not to have this one have a name."

"Fine," Rose said. "What do you want to call it?"

The Doctor shot her an annoyed look.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't have to run names by you, would I?"

"Bob," Rose suggested.

"Rose," the Doctor said in a long-suffering voice, "Cars are female. They have female names."

"Why?" Rose asked. "Isn't that a bit sexist?"

"Not necessarily. Look at it this way: a man loves his car, and the object of his adoration should be female. Therefore, cars are female."

"So, cars have female names cuz guys love them?" Rose asked.

"Sort of," the Doctor conceded. "Now help me think of a name."

"_Not _Mary," Rose said quickly. "What about Bessie?"

The Doctor frowned.

"Can't," he said.

"Why not? Didn't you say you had a car called Bessie once before?"

"Exactly," the Doctor said. "I couldn't name this car Bessie. It would be like… like calling your girlfriend by your ex girlfriend's name."

Rose raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Or bringing your wife to your ex girlfriend's house on your honeymoon?"

"Hey!" the Doctor protested. "That was a mistake and you know it!"

"Yeah, yeah," Rose grumbled good- naturedly. "So Bessie's out."

"Definitely out. It would be a slight to Bessie's memory to give her name to some other car. She was special. She was an antique. She got me out of a lot of scrapes. There was this one time…" the Doctor smiled dreamily.

"Doctor! Memory lane is closed. Pay attention to the road!" Rose begged.

The Doctor took the next turn rather sharply.

"I have everything under control," he said confidently.

"Are we there yet?" Rose asked rather queasily.

--

"I thought we were never going to get here!" Rose said dramatically as they walked into the front lobby of Torchwood Tower.

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"I told you I wasn't going to kill you. I think I'm getting better."

"Better is when you don't almost kill us every time," Rose replied.

The Doctor just looked smug.

"Goodbye," Rose said pointedly, turning to catch the elevator.

The Doctor kissed her forehead lightly.

"Try not to get into any trouble today, yeah?" Rose requested.

"No promises," the Doctor threw over his shoulder. With a quick movement, he snatched Rose's ride, and smirked at the mock-outraged look on her face as the doors slid shut.

The basement offices of the R&D department were full of their usual noise. The trouble with such a large space was that everything seemed to echo, making it half as loud again as it really was. A muffled _boom!_ followed by cursing made the Doctor chuckle. It came from Andrea's corner, so of course something was blowing up. Andrea was renowned for her astounding ability to accidentally blow things up. Banks kept saying he would fire her, only he wasn't sure if London was safe if he did.

The Doctor got to his desk after greeting a few people, and hung up his coat on the coat rack. With much dignity, he unwound the long, multicoloured scarf from around his neck, and hung it over the top of his tan suede coat. Rose had helped him pick out the coat when the weather started getting cooler. At the time he hadn't thought it was quite his style, but Rose had insisted that it suited the new him. The colour was lighter than he would have liked, and having a coat that ended at his waist instead of going nearly to the ground had felt strange at first, but it had grown on him. Plus, he was appreciating the sheep skin collar a lot more now that it offered protection from the biting winds.

"Good morning Max!" the Doctor greeted his partner cheerfully.

"Nothing good about it," Max muttered blearily, clutching a huge coffee cup to him. "I hate that you're one of those annoyingly chirpy morning people. It's obscene."

"And unlike you, I don't need addictive substances to get me going in the morning. Do you have any idea what that caffeine is doing to your brain?"

Max hugged the cup to himself protectively.

"No. And don't tell me either. I want to enjoy my habit without the tinge of guilt attached."

"Have it your way," the Doctor said with a shrug. He stretched out luxuriously at his desk, extending his long legs so that the tips of his black converses poked out into the aisle. He grinned at Max.

"Bloody ray of morning sunshine," Max grumbled, taking his place at his own desk and beginning to rearrange things for the day.

The Doctor fished a scrap of paper from his pocket, and began dialing the number on it.

"Hello. Yes, I would like to order 4 long-stemmed roses… delivery… pink… no, wait, better make that red. In the language of roses, red means love triumphant. Actually the language of flowers dates back to… uh, yeah, card. Write 'Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle's compass come. It alters not with these brief hours or weeks, but bears it out, even to the edge of doom'. You got all that? … ok, then write 'Happy 4th, love the Doctor.' Yeah. Just 'the Doctor'. She'll understand. Deliver to Torchwood Tower, Canary Warf, for Rose Smith. Yeah… ok… sounds good… I'll be by later… yeah. John Smith…. Ok… thank you.

The Doctor hung up the phone.

"What was that all about?" Max asked. "You and Rose haven't been married for 4 years."

"4 months," the Doctor explained, a little sheepishly.

"Right," Max sighed. "At least you have a girl."

"Trouble in paradise?" the Doctor asked.

Max frowned

"What paradise?" he asked.

The Doctor smirked.

"Who is it this time?"

"Michelle. It's always been Michelle," Max said, a dreamy look coming into his eyes. "All those other girls weren't real, they were just kidding around."

"Michelle from front desk?" the Doctor asked, recalling the bubbly blond who manned the front desk Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Friday mornings.

"Yeah. She's just… and then… and…. You know?" Max said.

The Doctor couldn't help a smile from forming on his face.

"You've got it bad, haven't you?"

Max took a long sip of his coffee.

"Mocking me isn't going to help much."

"Weeeeeell…" the Doctor said. "I have recently come into possession of a wealth of knowledge about the female species that I could share with you, young paduan."

"Cuz you're married?" Max asked, wrinkling his nose.

"No, because of a friend of mine named Donna. She… shared some of her mind with me on this and many other subjects. As a result, I know more about women then I ever wanted to know."

"Care to share?" Max asked. "Like, are there any basic principles to follow?"

The Doctor thought for a moment.

"Well, I've travelled with a fair number of girls in my time, and although I was never romantically involved with any of them before Rose, I have learned a few things about them. Basic Principles: no matter what, no matter where, no matter who, any man has the chance to sweep any woman off her feet. All he needs is the right broom."

"That… was either really cheesy or really profound," Max said ruefully.

The Doctor laughed.

"Possibly both."

The two shared a smile.

"Now, no woman wakes up saying 'I hope I don't get swept off my feet today!'" the Doctor continued, in a voice that clearly indicated he knew a thing or two about women. "She might say 'This is a really bad time for me,' or something like 'I just need some space,' or my personal favorite 'I'm really into my career right now.' You believe that? Neither does she."

"I dunno. Michelle's pretty serious when she says that she's busy."

The Doctor shook his head.

"It's not a bad time for her. She doesn't need any space. And she may be into her career, but what she's really saying is 'Uh, get away from me now,' or possibly 'Try harder, stupid.'"

"So how do you tell which it is?" moaned Max.

"It's one of the mysteries of girls: you'll never know. You just have to keep on trying. 60 of all human communication is nonverbal body language; 30 is your tone, so that means 90 of what you're saying isn't coming out of your mouth."

"Is that what you did with Rose?" Max asked. "Just kept trying?"

"Sort of. Rose was different though," the Doctor answered.

"Different how?"

"Well, when I asked her to travel with me, it was just like all the other girls who had come with me in the past. They were all smart, pretty girls, and some of them fancied me. Some I even fancied back, a little bit. But Rose met me at a time when I was really vulnerable. I had just lost everything, and she came in and took care of me. We went through a lot together."

Max perked up a little.

"Like what?"

"Lots of things. We solved mysteries, and saved the world, and went on a game show, and saw amazing things, and accidentally got caught in a fertility ritual. And running… we did a lot of running."

"Got arrested?" Max asked.

The Doctor's mind flashed back to sitting in an uncomfortable cell with Rose's head on his shoulders while they awaited their 'execution'.

"Yup."

"Got drunk?"

Banana daiquiris floated in front of the Doctor's eyes.

"Yuuuup."

"Stole?"

"Not on purpose," the Doctor said defensively. "It was an emergency. And we ended up saving the planet."

Max gave him an odd look.

"Nobody's grateful any more," the Doctor grumbled good-naturedly.

A wicked gleam came into Max's eye.

"Had a threesome?" he asked.

The Doctor snorted.

"Maybe in Jack's dreams."

"Who's Jack?"

"Someone I travelled with. He liked to… dance."

Max made a face.

"You sure know how to pick travelling buddies," he said.

"To be fair, Jack picked me," the Doctor explained. "And Rose wanted to bring him along, and I never could say no to her."

"How did you know?" Max asked. "How did you know Rose was… you know… the One?" He winced at the cheesiness of what he had just said.

"Weeeeeell…. I knew she was special when I asked her to come with me again. She refused the first time, and I never ask twice. But something about her made me want to ask her again. And then we met Captain Jack, who flirts with anything that moves. It wasn't so much the fact that he flirted with Rose that bothered me, but the fact that she flirted back. I guess I can admit now that I was jealous. I don't think I realized I was in love with her till I asked her to dance."

Max smirked.

"Is that a euphemism?" he asked.

The Doctor shot him an annoyed look.

"No. There was music playing and she took my hand and we danced around the control room. But the thing was, Jack offered her his hand as well, and she chose mine. That was when I knew I was in love with her."

"That'll never happen with me," Max sighed. "Every time I ask Michelle out she says no."

"I had to ask Rose to come with me twice," the Doctor reminded him.

"I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong," Max said with a sigh. "But then she's such an amazing girl. She probably has lots of blokes ask her out, and why should she say yes to the genius kid freak?"

"Let me tell you something, Max. Girls like intelligent. How do you think I got all those people to travel with me? You just can't make them think that _you_ think they're not as smart as you."

Max ran a hand through his already tumbled hair.

"Blimey. Girls are complicated."

"Tell me about it," the Doctor agreed.

"So all those other girls… did you and they ever…?" Max wiggled his eyebrows expressively.

"Nah. Most of the time I was old and grumpy. Sometimes there were blokes that came along with me as well, and that was a bit strange. Especially since one of them ended up marrying another of my companions."

"You must have been a total Casanova," Max observed.

The Doctor smiled.

"You think they're complicated now? Try being married to one of them."

"I would settle for a date," Max said with a sigh. "Girls are totally strange."

The Doctor nodded sagely.

"I've seen a lot of stuff in my time, but nothing is as complicated as the human female."

Max nodded fervently.

"Will we ever figure them out?" he asked.

The Doctor shook his head.

"Probably not. I haven't, yet."

The Doctor thought for a moment.

"Why don't you go up there, and ask her right now? Tell her how you feel. Tell her you can't get her out of your mind, and you know you could make her happy, and she should at least give you one date to prove how you feel about her. Girls like that sort of stuff."

"I guess you're right," Max said, brightening. "I bet she wouldn't say no if I told her how I felt about her. Hey, and maybe your flower idea isn't bad either. Girls love flowers."

The Doctor nodded solemnly.

Max sat still, thinking.

"Well, my young grasshopper, what are you waiting for?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm thinking."

"There's such a thing as too much thinking. If you put these things off, you lose your chance. I know. It happened to me. Twice. Well, technically only once, but I guess it was also twice, seeing as we're the same…"

Max gave him another of his odd looks.

"The point is, _go_! Go now, and tell her. Shoo!"

Max got up, and made for the door.

"Ok, ok, I'm going already!" he said, grinning. Then, he turned back to the Doctor, looking nervous. "What were those Basic Principles again?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"Basic Principles? There are none."

_Author's Note: So I'm guilty of plagiarism. It's a fanfiction. Plagiarism is par for the course. And Hitch is a fantastic movie. All guys should watch it. It actually explains girls pretty well. _

_This chapter was my attempt to explain Rose through the Doctor's eyes. See her as he sees her, via poor Max who can't get a date with the secretary. I thought this would also be a good opportunity to show how young Max is. After all, he's only 17, and a freaky genius kid. What he needs, to put it in Doctor terms, is a companion to make the rest of the world understand him. _

_I'm sorry it's been a while- I've had one heck of a crazy, drama filled week. Not to mention I've been trying to work on my other story, Be All my Sins Remember'd, which is proving extremely tricky. It's a very dark story, so I have to trade it off with this one every other chapter so I don't fall into a black pit of despair. This story is nice and fluffy, so I can handle Be All my Sins if I do this one as well. _

_In other news, I now have this entire story planned out right to the ending (yay!). Yeah, that's right, I finally figured out a way to end this story gracefully. And what does my diseased mind do? Automatically start planning a sequel. I'm never going to finish all my on-going stories at this rate! Anyways, the point is, I know where this is going now. _


	14. Familiar Faces

Rose took in the whole office at a glance, and started to laugh.

"Been busy, have you?" she asked, noting the paper chains and tinsel the hung all over the room, as well as the small Christmas tree that stood on the edge of Lily's desk.

"I don't see what everyone's so grouchy for. It's Christmas," Lily said, grinning. "So of course I decorated."

"Marks is going to have twenty fits when he sees this place," Rose commented.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Who cares?"

Rose smiled.

"I love Christmas too," she said, her mind wandering to various different Christmases she had spent on different planets and different times, some right after the other. "Although, you haven't really known Christmas till you've spent it with Charles Dickens," she said out loud, thoughtfully.

"Ah, _A Christmas Carol_," Lily said, "I love that movie. With the Gonzo and Michael Caine."

"That too," Rose smirked. "Charlie's version isn't too bad either. He wrote a mean story."

Lily chuckled.

"Books are for people who don't like the Muppets."

Andy walked into the office, and stopped short on the threshold.

"Whoa! Was there a tinsel explosion in here?" he asked. "Did the tinsel fairy come in the night? Did it snow tinsel?"

Lily pouted.

"It's _Christmas._ I don't see why everyone has to be such Grinches all the time. It's just a little bit of decorating."

"A _little bit_ of decorating I could handle. This is something else entirely," Andy replied.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

"I think the decorations are nice," Rose piped up, more in support of Lily than because she appreciated the paper chains.

She was rewarded by a dazzling smile from the redhead.

"See? Rose likes them," Lily shot at Andy.

Andy rolled his eyes.

"Girls always stick together," he grumbled.

"Speaking of girls, how's your little angel?" Rose asked. Andy's daughter Isabella was 4, and a little darling. She was tiny and pixie-like, with the delicate features of her Asian mother. She had slanting, elegant almond eyes, and long, dark hair. She looked like a kitten next to the St. Bernard that was her father, and yet she had the big man wrapped around her little finger.

Andy's eyes lit up at the mention of Isabella. He loved talking about her.

"Isa can't wait for Christmas morning. She keeps shaking the presents, and the paper's nearly coming off some of them. I had to wrap them over again so she wouldn't see what was underneath. I keep telling her not to, but when does she every listen to me?"

Lily and Rose both laughed.

"Oh, let her shake them," Lily said. "She only gets one shot a childhood, and Christmas is all about shaking your presents."

"Yeah. Christmas is way more fun when you have kids around," Rose agreed, sitting down at her own desk.

"Or are one yourself," Andy added.

"Mentally or physically?" Lily shot back.

Andy mock-winced.

"Ouch. That hurt. If you keep slinging arrows at me like that, I may not give you _your_ present."

Lily's green-gray eyes lit up.

"Present?" she asked, eagerly.

Rose busied herself with turning on her computer, and pretended not to listen.

Out of the pocket of his greatcoat, Andy drew a small box.

"For you," he said, almost shyly.

Lily smiled, and took the box, which fit into the palm of her hand, and shook it.

Andy chuckled.

"Thanks, Andy," she said, smiling up at him.

"Merry Christmas, Lily," Andy replied.

Behind her desk, Rose hid her smile, and pretended not to notice.

--

"So what's with Michelle and that weird kid from R&D?" Lily asked.

Rose raised her eyebrow.

"Which weird kid are you referring to? There are a lot of weird people in this building."

"True," Lily said, inclining her head. "You should know him. He's John's partner."

"Max Davenport?" Rose asked.

"Yeah. He and Michelle from front desk are always together now. Did you ever see a stranger couple?"

Rose smiling, thinking of the Doctor and herself.

"Yes," she said.

"But Michelle's so pretty, and he's such a…."

"A geek?" Rose asked. "He is. But he's got a good heart. And hey, geek is good."

"You're just saying that cuz you married one," Lily replied.

Rose grinned with her tongue between her teeth.

"There are definite advantages to being married to the smartest person in the room," Rose replied.

"Yeah, but _Max Davenport_. He's just a kid," Lily objected.

Rose shrugged.

"I think he's cute. He makes me think of what John must have been like as a teenager."

"Grab your gear," Marks said, walking briskly into the room.

Rose looked up from her conversation with Lily, rather annoyed.

"Spoilsport strikes again," she murmured under her breath.

Lily gave an unladylike snort that she covered up with a cough.

"What's up?" Andy said, unfazed.

"Are they sending us off on another rabbit trail?" Lily asked sarcastically. Their last three assignments had ended up either being false alarms or leading to nothing.

Marks looked grim.

"There's been a sighting of cybermen."

Everyone grew silent, and a muscle in Andy's face twitched. His wife had been killed by cybermen three years ago.

"Let's go," Marks instructed.

They assembled their gear without a word. As they got into the elevator, Rose touched Lily's arm.

"You ok?" she whispered.

"I'm going to destroy them," Lily whispered back intensely. "I'm going to finish off every last one of them and smash them into a million pieces."

Rose was stunned by the force with which Lily said those words. Usually she was such a happy-go-lucky person.

"Cybermen killed any family I had left," Lily said, looking down at her clenched fists.

"I'm sorry," Rose whispered.

"Me too."

The elevator slid open, and they marched across they lobby with an air of determination. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw the Doctor's partner Max in animated conversation with the girl at the front desk, Michelle. She couldn't help smiling. Michelle would do the introverted and socially awkward Max a world of good.

They walked to the van without saying a word. Today there was none of the usual arguing about who would ride shotgun.

--

The car was filled with a tense silence.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked, when she could bear it no longer.

"Just outside of London. Two 70 year-old ladies live together in this country farm house. They reported seeing cybermen early this morning."

"Are they sure?" Andy rumbled from the front seat. "They could be scaring a lot of people for nothing."

"After all, they are 70," Lily said.

"I would say the same thing," Marks agreed. "Except that they're not the first people to report a pair of rogue cybermen running around the countryside. There have been several other reports, but nothing conclusive till now."

"What made this one conclusive?" Rose asked.

"One of the ladies had a camera." Marks handed a photo to Andy, who sat in shotgun beside him. Andy glanced at the picture.

"I guess that's pretty conclusive," he said, passing it back.

Lily took it, and together she and Rose bent over the rectangular, glossy sheet. Although it looked about sunrise, the shapes of two cybermen could be clearly seen, striding across an open field. Rose shivered, remembering the trouble they had caused before. Lily gave a sharp intake of breath, her normally dancing gray eyes stormy.

"That's them all right," Rose agreed.

"We're going to their last known location- the old ladies' house." Marks said, keeping his eyes on the road.

"What then?" Lily asked quietly. "What if there are more of them? What if these are just the scouts? We're not much good against a squad of cybermen."

"I brought metal-piercing bullets," Andy volunteered. "They were specially engineered to pierce the armour of cybermen."

"Besides, it seems they're just rogue ones. On the loose. After all, if there were more, wouldn't they be sighted before now?" Rose asked.

"Not necessarily," Andy replied. "Cybermen are good at hiding. They're cold and they're ruthless and they're calculated, but they're good strategists."

Rose remembered the first time she had come into contact with a cyberman – a head in Von Statton's museum. It was frightening how they had managed to endure across the centuries and the universes.

Marks pulled the car into a narrow lane, with hedges looming on either side.

"Where _are_ we?" Lily asked.

"Middle of nowhere," Max said. "Thank goodness for Atmos, or we would probably be lost in the middle of nowhere by now."

The road seemed to stretch on forever disappearing around a bend. As Marks navigated the bend, Rose stared out the window. The lane was empty, and quiet, and under the grey sky had an eerie quality about it, as only things in the lonely country could have. Rose was glad she was in the car. She wouldn't like to be walking along that road right now.

The cottage they had pulled up to looked like a postcard. It was small and neat, with gingerbread trimming, and whitewashed sides. The shutters and the roof were green. All around was a gardener's paradise of flowers and trailing vines.

"Oh, so you've finally come!" A tiny lady rushed out of the green front door at a speed that Rose thought was not possible for a person in their seventies. She was dressed in a faded print dress, and her wispy white hair was pulled into a braid.

"Hello, Ma'am. We're from Torchwood," Andy said, towering over the woman.

"Yes, yes, how do you do and all that. I called _hours_ ago! I thought you would never get here!"

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. It took us a while to collect our gear," Lily said, giving her a winning smile. The lady seemed to relax a little.

"I'm Rosemary Stark. My housemate, Susan Coleby, is in bed right now. She had a terrible attack of nerves after we saw those _things._"

"We'll need a full description of what you saw, Ms Stark," Rose said.

Rosemary seemed to recover herself.

"Of course. I have the kettle on, come in for some tea and I'll tell you all about it."

--

"So? Do you think they're really those cyber things?" Rosemary asked, pouring tea into delicate cups.

"We'll have to investigate," Andy replied. "We can't run the risk that there's two cybermen running around England."

"Not after the damage they caused last time," Marks agreed. "We have to find them before they start building more."

Rose shuddered.

"There weren't any here when the attacks came. Susan and I just stayed in our house and locked the door," Rosemary said. "But I read all about them in the papers, and knew what they looked like. When I saw the out the window I knew at once it was those cybermen. I called for Susan to bring the camera, but as soon as she saw them she started in on her attack of nerves, and hasn't stopped since. Susan's rather delicate, you know. So I had to get it myself, and by the time I got back, they were half way across the field. Thankfully, I bought the camera to take pictures of birds (I'm an avid birdwatcher, you know) and it has an excellent zoom feature."

Rosemary paused for breath, and Marks jumped in before she could continue.

"Which direction were they going in?" he asked.

"West. Yes, it was definitely west. Towards Drumlins, you know. Drumlins is the little town down in the valley. Nice sort of place, Drumlins." A thought seemed to occur to Rosemary. "Oh, dear. I hope the people are alright. Perhaps I should have warned them."

Marks held up his hand.

"Don't worry, Ma'am. We'll make sure they're alright. We have to go hunt down those cybermen."

"You make sure you do, young man," Rosemary said sternly.

Marks' face at being called a 'young man' was a study. Rose stifled a giggle. He stood up before Rosemary could start talking again.

"We have to hurry if we want to catch up with them. They already have a good two hour head start."

"Well, alright then." Rosemary looked disappointed. She probably didn't get much company, and was sorry to see them go. Rose vowed to come visit the lady, once this was all over. What's more, she would bring the Doctor. Those two could compete to see who could talk the most words per minute. The thought made Rose grin.

Rosemary was handing around the plate of cookies to everyone.

"One more for the road?" she asked Rose.

Rose grinned, and took two. They were really good cookies, she reasoned with herself as she slid one into her pocket.

--

"Are you sure that old lady wasn't just batty?" Andy asked gloomily. They had been driving for almost a half hour now.

"She said they went west, towards the village. This is the only village to the west of her house, so this has to be it," Marks said, shooting Andy an annoyed look.

"Rose is right. She _did_ seem a bit off her rocker," Lily said with a smile.

Rose was glad of it. It was the first time Lily had smiled since Marks had announced the cybermen.

"And she could talk the hind leg off a camel," Andy added.

"Isn't it the hind leg off a donkey?" Rose asked.

"Yes," Andy said, "But camels have longer legs."

"Ah. Of course. What was I thinking?"

A dense fog was rolling in, making vision beyond ten meters in front of them almost impossible. Marks parked the car at the outskirts of the village, and they walked in. It was eerily quiet in the blanket of cloud that surrounded them. The clammy fog made the houses that appeared on either side of the road loom menacingly like brooding figures.

Once Rose got close enough to the houses to see them, she saw that every one of them had their windows shut tight, and the curtains drawn. There was not a person in sight, either at the windows of the houses or on the street.

"Creeeeepy," Lily hummed.

Rose nodded fervently.

"Anybody else getting 'Sleepy Hollow' flashbacks?" Andy asked.

Even Marks cracked a smile at that. His smile vanished as a hump in the road appeared, obscured by the mist. He broke from the group and ran forward to see what it was. The rest of the team ran forward as he dropped to his knees, bending over it.

As it came into Rose's view, a sick feeling swooped into her stomach. It was a body.

Marks stood up.

"No pulse," he said. "And rigour has set in. He's been dead a good hour by now."

Rose shivered.

Andy's voice came out of the mist somewhere on Rose's left.

"There's another one over here," he said.

Rose bumped her foot against something, and tripped. She looked down, and was _very_ glad she had caught herself before she fell.

"Here's another one," she said, gulping. She looked down at the still face of the woman who she had stubbed her toe on. Pity flooded her. This had once been a young, pretty woman. The cybermen who did this had to be stopped before they could hurt anyone else.

Rose skirted the body of the young woman, and joined the team.

"Ok, now I'm officially weirded out," Lily said.

Rose nodded her agreement.

"No wonder there's no one around," Marks said grimly.

They came to the end of the road, and turned down another. This one was lined with shops whose front windows were dark. A few were broken. More bodies lay scattered about, only becoming visible as the team walked forward. Rose counted ten that she could see through the dense mist.

At the end of that road were several large warehouses, with storage sheds in behind them.

"Torrents, you're with me. We'll search inside the warehouse," Marks said. "DiMatto, you and Tyler go in behind. Signal if you find anything."

They split up quietly, and headed out into the fog. Rose was glad of the cover- Andy wasn't exactly the easiest person to hide.

Andy reached back into his holster and pulled out his gun, the one armed with the special anti-cybermen bullets. They slunk around the side of the warehouse and to the back. Behind the huge building was a maze of storage containers and tin-roofed huts.

They wandered in between the sheds, taking care to stay to the edges as much as possible. Andy went first, holding the gun. Rose positioned herself behind him, so that he could get a clear shot of any cyberman that might appear.

As they rounded another corner, they heard the horribly familiar clanking and machine-generated voices of their nemeses.

Andy signaled, and they both dropped down behind the shed. Two sheds up, in a small clearing, were the cybermen. They appeared to be standing, somewhat awkwardly, and attempting to move. Their movements caused the distinct whurr-clunck of metal against metal.

"It's the fog," Rose hissed in Andy's ear. "It's slowing them down."

"Like the Tin Man?" Andy whispered back.

In spite of herself, Rose rolled her eyes. Trust Andy to make a movie reference at a time like this.

Rose checked the GPS strapped to her wrist, and sent the coordiates to Lily's hand-held computer. She sighed with relief as a light blinked in return – Lily had received the coordinates and was coming. She tapped Andy on the back, so he knew as well.

There was nothing to do now but wait till Marks and Lily got to them. Rose and Andy crouched on the wet grass, watching as the two cybermen made jerking attempts to move their metal bodies. Rose gave an inward sigh of frustration. This would be a lot easier if Andy wasn't build like an American footballer, she thought to herself. To allow him to be more hidden, she shuffled backwards, hugging the wall of the shed.

Rose collided with something solid behind her. A calloused hand came over her mouth, stifling her shriek.

"Don't scream," A rough voice whispered in her ear.

_Author's Note: I knew this was going to happen. I just knew it. As soon as I get an adventure going, it gets too long and I have to break it up. Which is too bad, because the next chapter I have planned is also a cliffhanger. Can you forgive me for two of them in a row? What if I promise to write the other half really, really quickly? _

_This chapter has actually gotten pushed back about three times, and changed a fair few more. I was having a really hard time trying to work some plot points into the story, so thank goodness for cybermen (never thought I would say that after the complaining I did about them being in the Christmas special!). It's worked out rather nicely actually. I'm rather smug. _

_Why Christmas? Heck, why not? I wish it was Christmas now. _

_To those of you who complained about the last chapter, two words: character development. No use having flat, two dimensional secondary character. Max may be secondary, but I have a soft spot for him. And it was important that he and the Doctor bond. That will be important later on. _


	15. Out of the Fog

--

_Rose collided with something solid behind her. A calloused hand came over her mouth, stifling her shriek. _

_"Don't scream," A rough voice whispered in her ear. _

Rose bit her tongue hard to comply, but the hand was covering her mouth anyways. And her nose as well. She fought to breathe, her lungs screaming for oxygen. She shook her head vigorously, indicating that she wasn't planning on screaming, and then hand released. She sucked in a huge lung full of air.

"Sorry," the voice whispered, a little ruefully. "Didn't mean to suffocate you."

There was something familiar in the lilt of the voice. Rose turned as best she could in the tight space to see who her strange attacker was.

"_Jake?_" she whispered in utter shock.

"Nice to see you too, Rose," the blond whispered back.

"What's going on over there?" Marks hissed, as he and Lily slid in beside Andy. Lily drew out her gun when she saw Jake, half hidden in the shadows behind Rose. Rose waved her hands frantically, indicating not to shoot. Lily withdrew her gun, looking puzzled. Before anyone could say anything more, a grating, computer-generated voice split the air.

"We must find shelter from this damp. It is clogging our systems," the first cyberman said.

"I told you these bodies were not the perfect vessels you thought they were," said the second one, sounding (if it were possible for a cyberman) annoyed.

"Do not presume to lecture me just because we are the only ones left. We will carry on with the mission as planned."

"How are we going to do that?" the second one asked. "The others are gone. Floated away."

"We will use the drones," replied the first. In his hand he clutched a small leather satchel, which he held up now.

"The drones are not functioning properly. They are melting," pointed out the second cyberman.

"Then we must fashion other bodies for them out of more reliable material," said the first one. "The dirt here is susceptible to precipitation. We should have brought more of these metal bodies with us. They would have made excellent drones."

"At least when we had our bodies this did not happen in precipitation," said the second, rather snidely.

"Those bodies were weak and frail. They needed nourishment and rest. These need neither. We are unbeatable now!" proclaimed the first.

"Except when it rains," said the second.

"I will not tolerate insubordination!" thundered the first cyberman.

The second didn't seem phased by this outburst.

"You cannot release me. You cannot do the job on your own, even with the help of drones. You need me."

"I will release you from this metal body! I will crack your exterior, and you will float away and shatter if you do not obey me!!" cried the first.

"You lie," replied the second, nonchalantly.

Rose tapped Marks on the shoulder, and jerked her head behind her to a place where they could safely talk. There was something strange about those cybermen, and Rose had just had a very strange idea.

"I'll keep watch," Andy whispered.

The rest carefully got up and slunk around the other side of the warehouse, where they could see the road stretching out in front of it.

"Did anything seem off about those two?" Lily asked, as soon as they were clear.

Rose nodded.

"My thoughts exactly. Have you ever known cybermen to argue with one another?"

"No, never," Jake said.

Marks rounded on Jake.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"This is Jake," Rose said. "He's a friend of mine. It's a good thing he's here, because he's somewhat of an expert on the cybermen."

Jake shrugged.

"I've been tracking these two for a couple of weeks now. All the way from France."

"How did they make it across the English Channel, if they get stuck in damp weather?" Lily asked.

"Zeppelin," Jake explained. "I followed them in a by-plane, and I've been tracking them across England. You guys Torchwood?" he asked, taking in their black clothing and weapons.

Rose nodded, then smiled.

"It's good to see you again."

"You too. How's Mickey? Last I heard, he was determined to go after you."

Rose smiled rather sadly.

"He stayed in the other universe."

"I knew he would."

"Can we dispense with the pleasantries, please?" Marks snapped. "We have to rogue cybermen out there."

Jake shook his head.

"I think you were on the right track right then. I've been watching them for a while, and they don't act like cybermen at all. In fact, I'm convinced they're not."

"What do you mean they're not cybermen?" Marks asked. "They're right there, plain as day."

"The cybermen bodies are, yes. But cybermen are essentially human consciences in metal bodies, right? I don't think that's what these two are."

"Did they kill the people in the village?" Rose asked.

Jake winced.

"Yes. I lost them a few days ago. By the time I caught up, they had already done that."

"But that's what cybermen do, isn't it?" Lily asked. "Kill people and use their consciousnesses to make more cybermen."

"Yes, but not like that," Jake explained. "They use the brain; place it into the metal body. These two, they killed the people and left them intact. There was no attempt to create more suits to put the people into."

"How did you find these two?" Rose asked.

"I was in Germany. Me and a couple of others have been finding caches of cyberman suits all over Europe, mostly in rural places now. Beside one, there was a… a crash site."

"Like, a spaceship?" Lily asked, looking interested. Ships were a bit of a specialty for her.

"Yeah. Wreckage and alien bodies and stuff. Two of the bodies were inside the warehouse, and two cyber suits were missing."

"Do you think," said Rose thoughtfully, "That they could have transferred their consciousnesses from the bodies to the suits?"

Jake grinned.

"You catch on quick. I missed that about you, Rosie. Yes, I think that's exactly what happened. These two aren't cybermen, they're aliens inside cyber suits."

"But they're still a threat," Marks interrupted. "They still killed those villagers."

"What were they talking about with 'drones'?" Rose asked.

Jake shrugged.

"No idea. I only got here a few minutes before you did."

Rose looked thoughtful.

"What did they mean when the one in charge said that he would 'crack the other's exterior'?" she asked.

Lily frowned.

"Yeah, that bothered me too. He said that the other would 'float away'. What does that mean?"

"My team and I tried to clear up the crash site," Jake said. "We had a heck of a time. Everything was so much heavier than it should have been."

"They came from a planet with higher gravity than Earth?" Marks asked.

Sudden comprehension came on Rose.

"Oh, that's brilliant!" she exclaimed.

"Now she sounds like John," Lily said ruefully.

"Care to share, Tyler?" Marks asked, his impatience evident.

Rose turned to them.

"They are used to heavier gravity. They need something to keep them down. They had heavy bodies, but those died, so they used the cyber suits. It's the suits that are keeping them in. The one threatened to crack the other one's suit. If he did that, the other would float away into the atmosphere, and presumably pop, like a balloon."

"Then it's simple," Jake said. "All we have to do is make a hole in the suits."

"We could always run a zeppelin into them," Rose murmured.

Jake made a face at her.

"Ha ha," he said.

"What are we waiting for, then? I'll radio DiMatto and tell him to shoot them," Marks was already reaching for his radio.

"Wait!" Rose cried.

"What is it now?" Marks asked, with a longsuffering sigh.

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you should always offer them a chance. Besides, I have an idea."

"What?" Marks demanded, but Rose was already gone.

"Rose! Don't do anything stupid!" Lily called after her.

"Little late for that," Jake replied, with some chagrin.

Rose walked past a stunned Andy, and right up to the cybermen.

"Hello there!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Rose Smith."

The two cybermen – or rather, whatever was in the cyber suits – wheeled around.

"Human? What are you doing here, human?"

"You've caused rather a lot of trouble, actually," Rose said, smiling. "We don't enjoy having villagers killed."

"A necessary part of our plan," the second cyberman said.

"We do not need to explain ourselves to this human!" the first cyberman shrieked, waving the leather satchel in the air.

"Look, I'm offering you one chance," Rose said, suddenly turning serious. "Leave this planet, and no harm will come to you. It won't be offered again."

A strange rasping sound came over the voice processers of the cyber suit. It was laughter.

"Leave? We are just beginning," the first one barked.

"Is that a no, then?" Rose asked.

In response, the second cyberman pointed his weapon at her, and fired. He was clumsy at it, and Rose dodged. An object had caught her eye. She ducked behind a shed, and pulled an axe out of a chopping block. It was heavier than she had expected. Beginning to run, she heaved it up as high as she could, and brought it down with all her strength onto the head of the first cyberman. It lodged there, embedded deep in his helmet. She gave it a yank, but it was stuck fast.

"Uh oh," Rose muttered. This was _not_ part of her plan.

"Drones!" shrieked the first cyberman.

From around one of the many surrounding sheds, lollopped strange, half melting mud creatures.

"_What_ are those?" Rose heard Andy demand behind her.

Rose dodged another poorly-aimed shot of the cyber suit's weapons. But it was a better shot than last time. They were learning how to use them.

There were maybe ten of the drones, and they were attacking. The dripping creatures were surprisingly fast, and they were hurling stones and small darts.

A drone came up from behind Rose, and used its dripping arm to cover her face. Her mouth and nose became clogged with mud, and for the second time that day, she couldn't breathe. It had her arms pinned behind her, and she was helpless. There was a loud _thunk_, and Rose felt herself released. Her arms flew to her face, and quickly wiped the mud away, taking huge gulps of air.

Behind her, Marks stood over the mud creature. Under the dripping mud, they seemed to have a heard shell made of baked clay.

"Thanks," Rose said.

Marks gave her the ghost of a smile.

"Anytime, Tyler," he said.

Rose quickly surveyed the scene in front of her. The drones were not very effective, and there were now only four of them left. Lily dodged a large boulder flung by one, while Jake was involved in a game of hide-and-seek with the second cyberman, who was much more adept at using the suit's weapons system than the other. Andy was dancing around the cyberman with the axe embedded in the back of his helmet. He was trying to get around to pulling it out.

"Hey, over here!" Rose yelled, waving her arms. The cyberman turned to face her. "I'm over here, stupid!"

Andy slipped behind him, and with a mighty wrench, pulled the axe free of the helmet. A high pitched whine filled the air, and a pearly peach substance escaped the hole made by the axe. The suit crumpled to the ground. The remaining cyberman took another shot at Jake, missing him by inches.

"Jake, down!" Lily yelled, snatching Andy's gun from the holster at his side, and aiming it.

Jake dropped to the ground, and Lily fired three rounds into the cyberman's abdomen. The special metal-piercing bullets hit their mark, and punched through. The same whine was heard as the second gaseous alien floated out of the suit. The suit toppled over.

With little trouble, the team dispatched with the three remaining drones. They were all soaked, and covered in mud by the time it was over.

Rose reached down, and picked up the leather bag that the first cyberman had been so carefully hanging on to. With distaste, she untangled it from the fingers of the cyber suit, and peered inside.

"What is it?" Jake asked.

Rose held up the bag's contents- a green bottle.

"What's that all about?" Lily asked, taking it from Rose and examining it.

"No idea," Rose replied.

Expertly, Lily unscrewed the lid of the bottle. Out of it soared three wisps of smoke. Lily looked puzzled, but shrugged.

"Let's head back, team," Marks said. "We'll send the clean up crew to get rid of these suits." His instructions were as clear and conscise as ever, but a dab of mud on his nose made it hard to take him seriously.

Rose reached up, and wiped it off.

"Nobody can follow your orders with that there," she said, walking off too suddenly to see the peculiar expression on Marks' face.

They trudged through the town, weary and filthy, but triumphant. The fog was even beginning to lift a little.

"Is there any other way to get back to the truck?" Lily asked.

Rose understood. She didn't want to walk past the bodies lying on the street again.

"No," said Marks regretfully.

They trudged past, trying to keep their eyes straight ahead, and not lingering on any of the bodies. Rose tried to avoid looking at them, but her eyes automatically went to the crumpled piles. She passed the woman she had almost tripped over, and bit back a scream. The body twitched.

"Oooooooh!" it groaned.

Andy rushed to her immediately, helping her sit up.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. I think so. I have such a headache, though," the woman said. Two other bodies were also stirring.

"I think," said Lily, looking rather shocked, "That those three wisps of smoke weren't smoke."

"At least we saved a few," said Rose with a crooked smile.

--

"Blimey! What happened to you lot?" the Doctor surveyed the team as they came dripping into the Torchwood lobby, headed for the showers.

"Not a word," Rose said, scowling.

"But you…"

"Mmmmh!" Rose held up her hand to stop him.

The Doctor surveyed the group, and then caught sight of the extra member.

"Who's that under the mud?" he asked.

"Don't recognize me, Doctor?" Jake asked, cheerfully.

"Hard to see anyone under that skin treatment," the Doctor replied.

"That's nice. I come to see old friends, and they don't even recognize me," Jake grumbled.

The Doctor paused.

"Jake?" he asked tentatively.

Jake grinned.

"Hello Doctor!"

"Good to see you again, mate! I mean, if that really is you, under all that."

Jake scowled.

"Hey, I saved the world from cybermen today. You should be grateful."

"Were there any Zeppelins involved?" the Doctor asked.

"You and Rose think you're really funny, don't you?" Jake said, rolling his eyes. "Actually, you would have been proud of her. She acted just like you."

"Nah," said Rose, ducking her head in embarrassment.

"Listen, after I get cleaned up, why don't you and I head down to the pub and do some catching up?" Jake suggested to the Doctor.

The Doctor glanced at Rose, seeking her permission. She shrugged.

"Don't come home too late," she advised. "And remember, your alcohol tolerance isn't what it used to be."

"Under her thumb, are you?" Jake asked the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned.

"Ain't married life grand?"

--

Rose leaned back on the couch and succumbed to another fit of giggles. She was finally clean and dry, and dressed in comfortable pajamas.

"I don't see what's so funny," the Doctor grumbled.

"Have you seen yourself?" Rose asked, struggling to catch her breath as she sagged against the cushions.

The Doctor brushed an invisible wrinkle off the light blue shirt.

"I kind of like it," he said.

Rose began to laugh again.

"You would. You're that vain. What ever possessed you to give you that?"

"Early Christmas present to myself," the Doctor said smugly. "Besides, Jake said he thought it was a good idea." He looked down at himself, and smiled.

"Since when have you taken other people's advice on wardrobe choice?" Rose asked.

"Well _I_ thought it was pretty funny," the Doctor grumbled.  
Rose's eyes sparkled with mirth.

"You think?"  
The Doctor pulled off the blue t-shirt, leaving the brown long sleeved shirt he had on underneath. He laid the blue garment across his lap, and contemplated it.

"I think it suits me," he said reflectively.

Rose tried, and failed, to suppress another bout of laughter.

"I love you," she giggled.

The Doctor chuckled to himself.

"I know, I know, because nobody else will," he concluded, smiling.

He glanced down at the shirt again. In large block writing over the pale blue of this shirt was printed:

_Trust me, I'm a Doctor _

_Author's Note: I hope that fulfilled everyone's expectations as to how the cliffhanger would end. It certainly went in a different direction then I thought it was going to go. But it worked out in the end pretty nicely, I think. The cybermen conversation was HARD. It went through at least three drafts before I finally settled on a sequence. _

_Jake is in this chapter at the request of a friend. She suggested that he come back, which lead to the whole cyberman two-parter. The idea for them being aliens in cyber suits came (bizarrely enough) from a fantasy series called "Protector of the Small" by Tamara Pierce. I've been reading kid's books again, what can I say? _

_The ending scene is one that has been in my head almost from the beginning, and I've really had nowhere to put it till now. There is actually a picture of DT in such a shirt. Google it. It's awesome :-) _


	16. Myth, Man, Time Lord

Daleks

Daleks. There were daleks all around him. Their huge, metal bodies gliding soundlessly over the ground, closing in. He tried to get away, but they had hemmed him in. In front of him stood the chief dalek, his red metal dome gleaming dully in the dusky light.

"Welcome, Doctor," he boomed.

The Doctor shook his head.

"You can't be here. You're all dead."

"Yes. You killed us," the chief dalek said.

The Doctor shuddered.

"I had to. You would have wiped out all other life in the universe if I hadn't."

"There is a word for one such as you, Doctor," the dalek said. There was no pity in his metal voice, no reprieve.

The Doctor shook his head again.

"Don't!" he cried. "I couldn't bear it!"

But daleks are not merciful.

"Murderer. Genocide," the chief dalek said, and the others repeated it, their computerized voices echoing till the sound surrounded the Doctor and beat into his skull.

"Genocide, genocide, genocide."

"I had to!" He yelled at them, as if to drown out their endless refrain.

"You wiped out our entire race," intoned the daleks.

"I had to," the Doctor repeated.

The chief dalek swiveled his metal dome around so that it was towards him, its plunger facing him.

"You kill entire races because they are not like your own. You killed Davros without giving him a way out," there was a sneer in the chief dalek's voice.

Then, he said the words that forever haunted the Doctor. The words he could never forget.

_"You would make a good dalek." _

The Doctor woke with a jerk. Ever since that last dalek had said those words to him, they had reverberated in his ears, and never more than now.

He looked beside him. At his side, Rose still slept peacefully, undisturbed by his nocturnal terrors. He was glad. She would have been worried and concerned if she had known how frequently he woke shaking, with sweat pouring down his forehead.

Gently, the Doctor leaned over and brushed a strand of hair off of Rose's forehead. She looked so peaceful when she slept. All the many cares of the day before, and the many worries for the day to come were wiped away. In sleep there were no alien plots, no mysteries, no annoying coworkers. She had enough peace for the both of them right now.

Even after six months, it was still surreal to be married to Rose. It was surreal just to be around her again, never mind sharing breakfasts, stolen kisses, midnight cuddles, and long talks. He knew it could never go back to the way it was before. For one thing, they weren't running for their lives every other day. At least he wasn't. Her job kept her significantly more active.

He worried about her. Life seemed so much more fragile now that he only had one. He found himself purposefully taking time to enjoy things as he never had before. Knowing that he had to savour things somehow made them clearer, more crystallized. The simple act of sleeping besides Rose somehow had so much more meaning than it used to.

The Doctor lay back down, and pulled his slumbering wife into his arms. Yes, he intended to enjoy every minute of it.

--

Rose woke to a delicious smell. At first, she thought she was only hovering on the edge of a dream. Then, as she became more fully conscious, she realized that the smell was in reality, and not just in dreaming. She sat up, fully awake now. Glancing over, she saw that the Doctor's half of the bed was empty, the blankets hastily pushed aside. She grinned as a thought flitted through her head, and then dismissed it instantly. There was no way the Doctor was _cooking_.

She trailed downstairs, running her fingers through her tumbled hair.

Rose was greeted by a cheerful "Good morning!" by Jake, who sat at the table, his plate piled high with pancakes.

"Stayed the night, did you?" Rose asked.

"Yup. The Doctor said it was fine," Jake answered.

Rose smiled.

"Where did you get the pancakes?"

Jake smirked.

"Actually, that would be me," the Doctor's voice said behind her.

Rose turned around, and started laughing.

The Doctor was standing over the stove, bowl of batter in one hand, spatula in the other, a floral print apron covering his green t-shirt.

"You're kidding, right?"

The Doctor pouted.

"I _did_ eat before you came along, you know," he said.

Rose grinned.

"I thought the TARDIS cooked for you."

"Only sometimes," the Doctor replied, ladling another spoonful of batter into the frying pan.

Rose plopped down at the table and looked up at him expectantly.

"Yours is coming," he informed her. "So just be patient."

Jake tipped his fork up, offering Rose a piece of his syrup-dripping pancake.

"Um, eeew," Rose said, making a face.

Jake laughed.

"Don't say I didn't offer," he replied.

The Doctor placed a plate in front of Rose. She eyed it suspiciously.

"Just try it, skeptic," the Doctor said.

With much show, Rose carefully cut a piece of the pancake and brought it to her mouth.

"Hmmm..." She said thoughtfully, chewing. "It's not bad."

"Course not," the Doctor said with a smirk.

As soon as he turned back to the stove, Rose cut another piece. Actually, they were _good_.

The doorbell rang.

Rose glanced down at herself, and then sprang up.

"It's Lily, and I'm still in my pajamas!" she exclaimed.

"Why's Lily here?" the Doctor asked.

"She heard you were making pancakes," Rose said, her mouth twisting up. "She and I are going Christmas shopping. I told you last week, remember?"

"No," grumbled the Doctor.

"Listen, distract her for a few minutes while I change, ok?"

Rose dashed up the stairs before he could answer. She got dressed in record time, spending only a few minutes to ponder her outfit instead of the usual half an hour of trying different things on. She snatched up a hair clip, and hurried down stairs, hoping Lily wasn't annoyed with her for making her wait.

Lily looked up from her place at the table as Rose walked in.

"Hi," she mumbled, her mouth full of pancake and syrup.

Rose suppressed a smirk.

"Hi, Rose," a small voice said.

Rose turned, and located the source of the voice: a small girl, perched on the counter and swinging her round legs while the Doctor fed her pieces of pancake. She grinned at Rose, and opened her mouth like a baby bird to receive another piece.

Rose laughed.

"Isabella! What are you doing here?"

"Lily's takin' me shoppin'. We is going to have girly time," Isabella said.

"Do you mind if we bring her along, Rose?" Lily asked. "Andy really needs some time to run some errands, and I said I would help him out."

"She can always stay with me," the Doctor volunteered, smiling at the girl, who looked like nothing so much as a china doll at that moment.

"Don't wanna stay with John," Isa protested. "I wanna go shoppin' wif Lily and Rose." She smiled at Rose with her most winning smile.

Rose grinned back.

"I think that settles it," she said.

"You mean you don't want to stay with me?" the Doctor cried melodramatically, flinging his arms around Isa.

Isa giggled, and gave him a sloppy kiss.

"I still love you," she reminded him.

The Doctor grinned.

"Well then," he said, picking her up. "I might just have to kidnap you,"

Isa wriggled in his arms, laughing while he tickled her.

"Wow, is he ever going to be a great father," Lily commented, coming to stand beside Rose. Rose nodded.

"Alright, alright," she said, checking her watch. "We have to get going. Doctor, kindly return Isa to her rightful owners."

"You're leaving me with the dishes I presume," the Doctor pouted, putting Isa back on the ground.

Rose stood on her tip toes and kissed him.

"Like a model husband," she said.

Behind her, Jake snorted.

"Fine," the Doctor said. "I'll just stay here and be lonely, shall I?"

"You won't be lonely. Jake's here," Rose reminded him, checking her appearance in front of the hall mirror. Placing her clip in her mouth, so that it dangled out comically, she gathered her hair up and secured it at the back of her head. In one swift movement, she clipped it back, and smoothed the remaining hair that hung down on her shoulders.

The doorbell rang once again. Rose gave one final backwards glace at the mirror, then opened it.

"Mum!" she exclaimed, surprised.

Jackie looked harried.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure, Mum," Rose said. Jackie walked into the kitchen, dropping her bags on the floor, and shifting Tony's weight where he rested on her shoulder.

"Sweetheart, can I ask a favour of you? I need someone to look after Tony for the day, and you know how I don't trust those daycares- there's always something dodgy about them. It's just for a couple of hours while I help Pete arrange his Christmas party. Please?"

Rose looked at the people surrounding her.

"Um. Lily and I were going to do some Christmas shopping. And we're already bringing my teammate's daughter Isabella," Rose added, heading off her mother's imminent suggestion that they should bring Tony with them.

Jackie looked disappointed.

"The Doctor…" Rose started.

"Is coming with them, unfortunately," the Doctor cut in.

Rose sent him a glare, which he happily ignored.

"I'll look after him," said a voice from the back of the kitchen.

Jackie raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't like kids. And I didn't know you were back in town."

"Only got back yesterday. Besides, Tony and I are old friends. I was there when he was born."

"Don't you have plans today?" Jackie asked.

"Well, I had planned on spending the day with the Doctor," he shot the Doctor an exasperated look. "But it seems they had plans without me. I can look after Tony. It's really no problem."

Jackie looked totally relieved.

'Thank goodness. I really have to go, or I'll be late!" She handed Tony to Rose, and the huge diaper bag to the Doctor, and rushed out the door.

The Doctor and Rose exchanged amused glances, and simultaneously handed both items to Jake.

"Good luck," the Doctor muttered.

"Deserter," Jake muttered back.

--

The shopping mall was crowded and noisy. Usually people tried to avoid these places at all costs at Christmas, but Rose loved it. The bustle, the lights, the decorations, the air of barely contained excitement. It made her feel like a kid again.

"I wanna go there!" Isa pointed to a huge, highly decorated toy store, with shining eyes.

Lily knelt down so that she was level with Isa's stroller.

"I'll make a deal with you, ok? Rose and I have to do some shopping for Christmas, but after we're done the serious stuff, we can go look at the toy store and you can pick out one thing. How does that sound to you?"

The little girl nodded sagely.

"Ok," she said.

Lily straightened up, looking pleased with herself.

Rose was impressed.

"When did you become a Mommy?" she asked.

Lily blushed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, pushing Isa's stroller.

--

"Right," Rose said, consulting her list. "I need a present for my mum, and one for Tony. Isa can probably help with the one for Tony."

"I have to get one for my next door neighbour Marcie, and something nice for Andy. What about you, John?"

The Doctor looked totally bored.

"Serves you right for coming with us instead of looking after Tony," Rose said good-naturedly.

The Doctor made a face.

"Shopping malls at Christmas are terrible places,"

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you just sit in the food court and read your book, and we'll meet you there?" she asked.

"How do you know I have a book?" the Doctor asked innocently.

"Your pockets aren't as dimensionally transcendental as they used to be," Rose answered. "Besides, you always make a big fuss when I want to go shopping, and then end up wandering off and getting into trouble."

"_I_ wander off?" the Doctor teased. "_I _get into trouble?"

"Are you coming shopping with us or not?" Rose asked.

The Doctor shrugged.

"So maybe I do have a book."

"Meet us in the food court?" Rose asked.

The Doctor smiled winningly.

"Have fun. Bye Lily. Bye Isabella. Be good."

"Me or Isa?" Lily asked.

"Both," the Doctor threw over his shoulder as he wandered in the opposite direction.

--

"Right. Now that we've got rid of him," Rose said. "I can shop for his present."

"He wasn't allowed to know you were looking for a present for him?" Lily asked.

"Are you kidding? He's like a little kid. He would be following me around and watching me and trying to guess what it was."

Lily giggled, then sighed.

"At least you have someone," she said, regretfully.

"What about Andy? You like him, don't you?"

"Sure I like him. I mean, he's my partner and all."

"But you don't have any feelings for him?"

Lily blushed to the roots of her flaming hair.

"Why would you ask that?"

"You volunteered to take care of his kid," Rose pointed out.

"I like Isa. And besides, he needed a favour."

"Sure," Rose said, looking skeptical. But she dropped the subject.

Isa tugged on Rose's trouser leg.

"Rose? Can we go in the book store?" she asked.

Rose grinned.

"Good idea. And I can pick something up for John while I'm there."

--

The Doctor, book tucked under his arm, surveyed the food court. It was crowded, and there didn't seem to be any seats left. He headed off to one of the further reaches, where there didn't seem to be as many people. He threw himself into a plastic chair, and opened his book, staring at page one. It was a new one that Max had recommended. Immediately, he was intrigued. The author of the book, Zephram Cochran, seemed to be on to something when he talked about the possibility of a working warp engine. Of course it would need a little tweaking, and the guy's theory was a little off, but…

The Doctor was so absorbed in the book that the slamming down of a plastic tray somewhere near him was almost like a physical blow. He wrenched himself away from the page, and looked up. At the next table over was a familiar figure in a red plush suit: the mall Santa.

"You gonna use those?" the Santa asked, pointing to the salt and pepper shakers on the Doctor's table.

"No, by all means," the Doctor said, pushing them towards the large, padded figure.

The Santa nodded his thanks, sprinkling the salt liberally over his French fries.

"You know," the Doctor said, almost to himself. "Nick was an old friend of mine."

"Nick?" the Santa asked, his mouth full of hamburger.

"St. Nicholas. Knew him from the old days at the Academy."

"Sure, you know Santa Claus," the mall Santa joked.

The Doctor nodded.

"Actually, I never could understand why the people of Earth made such a big deal out of him. I mean he was a good guy and all, but he helped a lot of other planets as well, and you never see a 'Doctor Day' on any of the ones I saved."

The Santa stared at him as if he was insane.

"It's not as if I'm jealous or anything. He's welcome to his own holiday. But really – red?"

The mall Santa looked down at his outfit.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Well nothing, strictly speaking. It's just that Nick usually wore a green suit. To blend in you understand. It was just in his third regeneration that he wore red. Actually, I knew ol' Nick pretty well, and right before the war he wore a gold leisure suit. Come to think of it, red was an improvement. Even if you guys added the fur later on. But if you were going for accuracy, I would pick green."

The mall Santa evidently thought that the Doctor was someone to be humoured until the authorities came to take him back to his padded cell.

"People – ah – expect the red suit," he said. "I have to wear it or they wouldn't know who I am."

"True," the Doctor mused. "Humans aren't exactly known for their observation skills. Actually, the red suit was a tad impractical."

"It's hot and itchy and sweaty," the Santa confessed.

"Yeah. That's what Nick was always saying. And really unnecessary when you have a TARDIS to take you around anyways. Even if it _was_ disguised as a sleigh."

The Santa looked confused again, but was saved from replying to the Doctor by the appearance of Rose, pushing Isa's stroller while the little girl walked beside her.

"Santa!" Isa cried, running straight at him. The mall Santa caught her in his arms, and gave her a huge hug.

"Made a new friend?" Rose asked.

The Doctor grinned.

"I was just telling him about Nicholas, the prototype for Santa Claus. Nick and I went to the Academy together."

Rose choked.

"Are you saying Santa was a…?"

"Oh yes. Travels in time and space to get to every kid in a single night while also saving the world? Oh yes."

Rose started laughing.

"No way. I didn't know other Time Lords visited Earth."

"Of course. What do you think Mary Poppins and her carpet bag were?"

Isa's high voice cut through Rose's laughter.

"Are you the real Santa Claus?" she asked.

"Of course I am," the mall Santa said, holding the small girl in his arms.

The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, Isabella. You see, Santa isn't so much a person as he is a collection of archetypes and pre-Christian myths about good will and the spirit of giving. And he's not so much those things as he is a thousand year old Time Lord. In fact…" the Doctor stopped short and let out a yelp. Rose had trodden very firmly on the toe of his black converses. "What was that for?" He demanded.

Rose pointed.

In the Santa's arms, Isa's lip was trembling.

"Say something," Rose hissed. "She's too little to stop believing in Santa!"

"Erm…" the Doctor scrambled for ideas. He gently took Isabella from the Santa. "You see, archetypes are ok, Isa. The world needs more goodness and more giving in the world. And Earth has made a whole holiday out of one generous and jolly Time Lord who liked spreading happiness. And who am I to say that that's bad?"

"So is that Santa?" Isa asked, pointing.

"Apparently not," muttered the mall Santa.

The Doctor shot a glance at Rose, who shrugged.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is yes, Isabella, there is a Santa Claus."

Rose reached behind him and plunked something on his head.

"What did she do?" he asked to Isabella in a stage whisper.

Isa giggled.

"Reindeer antlers," she said.

"Hey buddy," the mall Santa said. "I gotta get back to work. So am I real or not?"

The Doctor opened his mouth to give the real answer, and then looked at Isa's tiny, trusting face.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

Isa nodded solemnly.

"Jury's in. And so are you apparently," said the Doctor.

"Good," said the Santa. "Cuz I got some pictures to take." He picked up his red gloves, and walked off.

The Doctor caught Rose's look.

"What?" he asked, putting Isa down.

Rose sighed.

"You can't talk to mall Santas like that! He's just some bloke who's getting some extra Christmas pay to make children happy."

"I was only saying…." The Doctor protested, before he was cut off. Rose put her hand over his mouth.

"In the future, leave those guys alone."

The Doctor sighed.

"Ok, fine."

Rose stood on her tip toes, and kissed him.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Blimey," the Doctor said with a grin. "You should have started out with that bit. Makes a better argument." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Rose laughed.

"You're so dumb sometimes. But then sometimes, you get it right."

"What did I get right?" the Doctor asked.

Rose nodded towards Isa, who was playing with the fur trimmed hat that the Santa had left behind.

"You let her believe. You knew the right answer, but you let her believe it her way anyways. Christmas is all about believing in things you wouldn't normally believe in. Never mind that Santa's a Time Lord. To her, he's a jolly man in a red suit who brings presents. That's what it's all about."

The Doctor rubbed his nose against Rose's.

"When did you get so smart?" he asked.

Rose smiled.

"You're rubbing off on me."

"_What_ are you wearing, John?" Lily asked behind them. The Doctor let go of Rose, and turned to face her.

"Wearing?"

"On your head," she said.

The Doctor reached up, and encountered fuzzy antlers.

"Oh! The reindeer antlers! Rose gave them to me. Don't you like them?"

"I do," Isa piped up.

Lily laughed.

"Well you have one fan," she said.

"Two," Rose whispered in his ear.

The Doctor chuckled.

"_Why_ are you wearing antlers?" Lily asked.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Right," Lily answered. "I don't want to know, do I?"

"Nope," said the Doctor cheerfully.

"Ok," Rose cut in. "If you're all finished, I think we've got everything. You wanna go to that toy store now, Isa?"

"Yeah!" Isa cried, jumping up and plunking the Santa hat onto her dark hair.

"Remember, you get to pick one thing, ok?" Lily said, helping her into the stroller.

"Ok," Isa replied.

"You know," the Doctor said in Rose's ear as they strolled behind Lily and Isa. "The flying reindeer were real? They were androids. Sentient robots, not unlike my K9 model. In fact, they were made by the same people."

Rose wrapped her arms around him and laughed.

_Author's Note: So school has been kicking my butt lately, not to mention a huge case of writer's block. Which is why this chapter is so horribly, horribly late. I had it planned out like three weeks ago, and never got around to writing it because I started a new school, and everything was new and scary and I didn't have time to think about Rose. Sorry for making everyone wait!_

_Thanks so much to I am the Lev – by the barrel, by the bucket, by the bushel. I managed to get my thoughts together and give you this chapter because of her help. I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for her and her great comedic ideas. _

_This chapter makes this story the longest I have ever written. Sixteen chapters and still going strong (Celebrates! Yay for long stories!_

_I had to sing Christmas songs to get myself into the Christmas mindset, and now I want it to come! Three months and four days to go…. _


	17. Curse of the Tux

"Rose, are you _ever_ coming out of there?" the Doctor asked, straightening his bowtie in the bedroom mirror.

"Yes," Rose said, her voice muffled by the closed bathroom door. "Eventually."

"Why do we have to go to this?" the Doctor said, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed.

"You know why. My dad's the head of a multi-billion dollar company, and I've got to make an appearance at his fundraiser. Besides, it's Christmas."

"Exactly. It's Christmas. Don't you think we should close our curtains and lock our doors?" the Doctor said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Something strange always happens at Christmas. I regenerated, then I met Donna when she beamed inside the TARDIS in a wedding dress, then I was on the Titanic, then there was the time that…"

"Ok, ok, I get the point," Rose interrupted.

"And to top it all off, I'm wearing a tux," the Doctor grumbled.

"So?"

"So, something always happens when I wear a tux," the Doctor looked down at this black and white ensemble and scowled.

"Don't be superstitious," Rose said. "It's a Christmas party. What could happen? You'll probably just drink one too many banana daiquiris and start bickering with someone about wormhole physics."

The Doctor looked affronted.

"I never bicker about wormhole physics. There's nothing to bicker about. They're quite straightforward actually. It's just space bending to put two far away points closer together. In fact, I know this race of super advanced beings who created round devices that could…. Rose, why are you laughing?"

Rose fought to keep her laughter under control.

"I love you even when you go off on tangents," she said.

The Doctor smiled to himself.

"So where exactly did Jake run off to, again?" Rose asked.

The Doctor ran his fingers though his hair, making it stand up on end.

"He got a call from his friends in Europe. Said they had found another cache of cybermen, and they needed him back right away."

"Alright, I'm coming out," Rose said, opening the bathroom door. "What do you think?" she spun around, so that her dress flared out.

The Doctor would have loved to tell her what he thought. But he couldn't. He was having trouble forming coherent thoughts at that moment. Rose was breathtaking. Her black dress hung off her shoulders by thin straps, hugging her curves before flaring out to her knees. Her three inch heals made her legs look like they went on forever. Her hair hung loose and wavy down her back, with one pink rose tucked behind her ear. A silver necklace gleamed against her skin.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked.

"Uh…." The Doctor struggled to gather his thoughts. "I have the most beautiful wife in the entire universe."

Rose smiled.

"You don't think it's too low?" she asked, tugging at the neckline of her dress.

The Doctor's lips twitched into a smile.

"Definitely not too low."

Rose laughed.

"Good." With a business-like air, Rose grabbed her purse, and headed for the door. The Doctor got there first, and offered her her coat, feeling as though he aught to be on his best behavior with the stunning woman who held his hand.

"You're being very gallant tonight," Rose said.

"You have to be, when you're escorting a princess to a ball," the Doctor replied.

Rose stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek.

"Glad Prince Charming came too," she said.

--

"Sweetheart! You're here!" Jackie hugged her daughter, beaming at her. "I was worried maybe you weren't coming."

"I had a little trouble with His Highness," Rose said, jerking a thumb towards the Doctor.

Jackie laughed.

"Well, you're here now. Happy Christmas, Love."

"Happy Christmas, Mum," Rose responded. Jackie moved on to the next guest, and the Doctor offered Rose his arm.

With a smile, she took it, and they moved into the cavernous room. Pete had certainly spared no expense for his Christmas fundraiser. The room was done up to the nines in red and green. In the corner loomed a huge Christmas tree, with many twinkling lights. The massive chandeliers overhead reflected the tiny lights a thousand times over.

"Tasteful," the Doctor murmured.

Rose snickered.

"Be nice. It's Dad's fundraiser, after all."

"Exactly. Who would want to pay lots and lots of money to sit in this green-and-red dipped room and talk with people they don't even like?"

"That's not exactly the point, is it?" Rose asked.

"All I'm saying is, I'm going to be on my guard. Something strange always happens at Christmas," the Doctor shot a suspicious look at the man standing close to them, as if he was suddenly going to pull out a sonic blaster and demand that they surrender Earth to his control. Actually, considering the way that the Doctor had spent the last couple of Christmases, that wasn't too far fetched.

"I hope you socialize properly tonight," Rose said.

The Doctor sighed.

"Properly?"

"Not just holing up with one person and talking science the entire night. Mum says if you don't do it properly, she's making you come to the New Years party as well."

"Your mum is a nightmare," said the Doctor severely. "I would rather face a whole hoard of daleks than an angry Jackie."

"You marry me, you get my mother," Rose replied evenly. "Besides, it's Christmas."

"Bah humbug," the Doctor groused.

"Our friend Charlie Dickens wouldn't appreciate that reference," Rose reminded him.

"Charlie would have appreciated the science talk," the Doctor shot back.

"Just… try to act normal, ok?" Rose said.

"What does normal look like?" the Doctor replied.

Rose smiled.

"With you I'm never sure."

--

Rose drifted to the other side of the room, casually looking for the Doctor. They had been forced to separate after dinner, and Rose just knew the Doctor was probably off shirking his duty. As she walked around and talked briefly with people, Rose kept a sharp eye out for her husband.

When she found him, she couldn't help but smile. He was in a corner of the large room, speaking animatedly to an elderly gentleman with a strong German accent.

"That's exactly what I'm saying! It's not as if he was totally wrong at all. You don't have to discard one for the other!" the Doctor said.

The elderly gentleman _hmphed_.

"You are too young to know what you are talking about," he said.

Rose smirked, and started to walk closer. This was an argument she didn't want to miss. She came up beside the Doctor, slipping her hand into his.

"Newton had a lot of good things to say," the Doctor continued, glancing down at Rose with a smile.

"He could not even manage round objects! No, we must abandon him for Einstein completely," said Dr. Wittgenstein.

"Einstein wasn't right about _everything_," the Doctor grumbled. "He totally botched the circumnavigation of space thing. Just wait. In fifty or so years you'll find the connection between the two."

Rose cleared her throat pointedly, seeing that the Doctor was steering into dangerous territory.

"Are you going to introduce me to your argument buddy?" she asked him.

The Doctor blinked. He seemed to have forgotten that she was there.

"Of course," he said, regaining his mental footing. "Rose, this is Dr. Wilhelm Wittgenstein. Witt, this is my wife, Rose."

Dr. Wittgenstein's demeanour changed. His face broke out into a smile.

"Delighted! Why Dr. Smith, however did you find such a lovely young lady?"

"She found me," the Doctor replied, kissing Rose's hand.

"How long have you been married?" Dr. Wittgenstein asked.

"Almost six months now," Rose said.

"Ah! Newlyweds. No wonder your husband does not know the difference between Newtonian and Einsteinian physics.

"Oh no," said Rose with a grin. "He's always like that."

"Who's side are you on?" the Doctor complained, good-naturedly.

A strain of music started up. The musicians had finished tuning their instruments and were beginning to play.

Dr. Wittgenstein began to smile.

"I hope you don't mind, Dr. Smith, if I dance with your lovely wife? That is, if she will dance with me. I used to be known for my dancing when I was younger."

Rose smiled.

"Course I will. It'll be nice to dance with someone who has a sense of rhythm."

"Oy!" the Doctor protested.

"Don't deny it," Rose answered as she walked past on Dr. Wittgenstein's arm.

He lead her to the floor, and they began to dance. Slowly, they danced the steps, moving in time to the music.

"Where did you learn to dance, my dear?" Dr. Wittgenstein asked Rose.

Rose grinned.

"In front of Big Ben during an air raid in 1941," Rose said.

Dr. Wittgenstein stared at her, and then broke out into a smile.

"What curious senses of humour you young people have!" he said.

Rose laughed along with him.

"Yes, of course I was joking. A friend taught me. He put on swing music and everything so that it would feel like the 40s. The Doctor was wildly jealous, but of course he wouldn't admit it at the time."

"Naturally not," Dr. Wittgenstein agreed. "I hope he has learned better now?"

The Doctor, standing behind Dr. Wittgenstein, tapped his shoulder.

"I wonder if I may steal my wife away from you, sir," he said.

Dr. Wittgenstein winked at Rose.

"Ah, I see he has not. Well, thank you my dear. It was been a real treat for an old fellow like me to have a pretty girl like you on my arm again."

The Doctor scowled at the older man's retreating back as he put his arms around Rose.

"He was flirting with you."

"Of course he was," Rose said. "He's a dear old man."

"His theories are all wrong," the Doctor grumbled.

"That doesn't make him less of a sweetheart," Rose replied.

The Doctor frowned, but didn't remark. They glided silently over the dance floor for a few moments.

"This regeneration's pretty good at dancing too," Rose said with a smile.

"Hey, I've had moves in all my regenerations," the Doctor replied.

Rose smirked.

"I seem to remember a certain man with no hair and big ears having two left feet," Rose teased. "You got moves? Show me your moves."

The Doctor twirled her out and expertly twirled her back in. The he dipped her.

"Is that moves enough for you?" he asked.

Rose opened her mouth to reply, but was prevented from doing so by a gun shot. The music stopped abruptly, and everyone was still.

"Right. Everyone on the ground," said a rough voice. The hundred or so people that were in the room immediately sat down where they had stood. Four people were left standing: a bald man, a woman with a long braid, a woman wearing a bandana, and a man who was so tall he was almost a giant. They were all holding guns, and all wore identical expressions of determination and resolve.

"Everyone get over there by the wall," the huge man said, waving his gun menacingly. Everyone did as they were instructed, except a man in a back tuxedo with messy brown hair.

--

"What is it with humans and guns?" the Doctor asked, thrusting his hands deep in his pockets. "They're so unchivalrous. Even arrows gave people a chance. You can dodge an arrow. But good luck dodging a bullet, unless you're from Krypton. Swords now, they gave a fair fight. At least you had a chance when attacked by a sword."

The woman with the bandana leveled her gun at him.

"He said, get against the wall," she growled.

The Doctor pulled a slender object out of his pocket, and twirled it around his fingers thoughtfully.

"Put it down!" yelled the bald man.

"What? This?" the Doctor held it up. It was a long, grey, pen-like object with a bright blue light at one end. "It's not a weapon, if that's what you're worried about. It can't hurt anyone. See?" he pointed it at the ground and pressed the button at the side. A familiar buzzing filled the air.

The four terrorists raised their guns to the ready.

"I said, put it down," the bald man repeated again.

"Like I said, not a weapon. Not good for anything except opening doors. Unless they're deadlock sealed, of course. But here, if it worries you…" the Doctor tossed the sonic screwdriver onto the ground, and watched it roll away a little sadly.

--

Rose hunched beside her mother.

"What's your insane husband doing now?" Jackie whispered in horror as the Doctor refused to comply with the orders being given.

"Being himself of course," Rose whispered back.

"He's not immortal any more. He's going to get himself killed."

"That never stopped him before," Rose replied. "Mum?"

"Yeah?"

"You've got an emergency button on your mobile, right?"

Jackie's eyes widened. As inconspicuously as she could, she fumbled in her purse and found her mobile. With a quick gesture, she pressed the red button at the side.

"It should send out a silent 911 call to the police," Jackie said.

Rose nodded, watching the Doctor. Her breath caught in her throat when he pulled out the sonic screwdriver.

"I knew he made another one," she whispered to Jackie.

"Not good for anything except _opening doors_," the Doctor, his emphasis on the last words almost undetectable to someone who didn't know him as well as Rose did.

"But here," he continued. "If it worries you…" he rolled the sonic screwdriver on the ground, right towards Jackie.

Rose thanked her lucky stars that her mother had chosen to wear a long and flowing dress that night. Jackie carefully tucked the screwdriver under her skirts and waited for the 4 intruders to focus their attention on the Doctor once again. While they were occupied, Jackie silently passed the object to Rose.

"Be careful," she said.

Rose nodded, and slipped the screwdriver into her bra, cursing the fact that her dress didn't have any pockets. They really should make party dresses with pockets.

"I will, Mum," Rose whispered back.

--

"I'm the Doctor by the way," the Doctor continued mildly.

"Doctor Who?" the woman with the long braid demanded.

"Just the Doctor. But the real question is, who are you? And what do you want with a room full of party guests?"

"You! Stay where you are!" barked the very tall man.

The Doctor looked over. Rose had stood up from the crowd of huddled guests.

"I was wondering where you had gotten off to," the Doctor said.

"Miss me?" Rose smirked.

"This is Rose, my…"

"Companion," Rose interrupted him. "And the Doctor has a good point. What do you want with all of us?"

The bald man leveled his gun at Rose.

Rose held up her hands in a non-threatening manner.

"I just want to know so you can get whatever it is you want and we can all get out of here," she said.

"We're demanding that Torchwood release all its classified files to the public, or we'll kill all of you," the bald man grinned humourlessly, showing all his gleaming teeth.

"Well that wouldn't be very productive, would it?" the Doctor said conversationally. "If you killed us all, you wouldn't have any hostages to barter with."

"Shut up!" the tall man snapped.

"Touchy," Rose remarked.

"You'd think we weren't trying to help them," the Doctor replied.

"We're sick of Torchwood hiding things from us. The people of Britain have a right to know what's going on," said the woman with the long braid.

"Miri, don't say anything!" said the woman with the bandana sharply.

"So you're taking hostages? Well that's clever…" said the Doctor with a roll of his eyes.

Rose glared at him.

"Oy. Rude. Let's keep it civil while they have guns pointed at us, shall we?" Rose said pointedly.

"So you're angry at Torchwood?" the Doctor said, returning to the subject at hand.

"We're tired of big money like Pete Tyler controlling our lives. We have a right to know the discoveries that Torchwood makes."

"You want to know what Torchwood does? It defends your lives every day from threats that you can't even imagine," Rose said, sounding angry.

"Now who's being rude?" the Doctor muttered.

"We should decide for ourselves if we want to be defended," replied the woman with the long braid.

"Trust me, you want to be. You have no idea what kind of dangers are out there," Rose countered.

"We're not here to argue," said the bald man. "Our demands have been made, so all we have to do is wait. And if you two don't sit down, I'm going to shoot you right now." And his steel blue eyes said that he would.

The Doctor knew that he would have to play this situation very carefully.

"Alright," he said, holding out his hand in a gesture of surrender. "Listen to me. When this is all over, you don't want murder to be added to hostage-taking, do you? You'll need someone to speak for you, and tell the police how reasonable and fair you were to the hostages. I can be that person. But you have to put the guns down."

"Nice try," the woman with the bandana scoffed.

There was the distant wail of sirens.

"They called the cops!" the woman with the long braid said, panic lacing her voice.

"Don't worry," said the giant of a man. "I locked all the doors. They can't get in. Not without risking us killing the hostages."

Out of the corner of his eye, the Doctor saw a small side entrance, almost hidden behind the giant Christmas tree. Through the window in the door, he could see three uniformed police men, their guns drawn, peeping in. He caught Rose's eye, and pointed it out to her. Almost imperceptibly, Rose nodded.

"The thing is," the Doctor said suddenly, thrusting his hands into his pockets and beginning to walk forward. "You're not doing this hostage thing very well."

Instantly, all four guns were pointed at him, and four pairs of eyes watching him exclusively.

Behind their backs, he saw Rose fish the sonic screwdriver out of her dress, and point it at the door. He began to talk louder, to cover the characteristic buzzing.

"I know you're angry at Torchwood and Pete Tyler, but this isn't exactly the way to do it," he said, watching as the uniformed men silently joined the seated crowd of guests.

"It's the only way to stop him!" snapped the woman with the braid.

"Miri, _shut up_!" yelled the huge man.

The Doctor could see that crowded around the main entrance were many more police men. He knew that in order to stop these four, they would need more than the few who had been able to sneak in.

"Rose!" he yelled suddenly.

Rose swung around and aimed the sonic screwdriver at the front door.

A shot sounded. For one second, everyone was frozen into shocked silence.

"Oh," said Rose softly. Her eyes sought the Doctor's, and held them for a moment. Then, she crumpled to the ground.

_Author's Note: Well I did say I had another cliffhanger... Sorry guys, but that's just the way it turned out! Just be glad I didn't put it directly after the other one, like I planned to at first. Two cliffhangers in a row is just unfair to you guys. _

_Sorry this took so long. I got totally and completely stuck at the terrorist part, until I remembered the sonic screwdriver. Handy little plot device. My brother got one of the toys for his birthday, so I had it beside me when I was writing that part. You know, for inspiration. It is a totally cool toy. Did you know that originally the one in the show was smaller, but they had to make the toy bigger so that the batteries would fit in. The Doctor Who people liked the bigger sizes so much that they enlarged the screwdriver on the show to match it. So the toy sonic screwdriver is exactly the same size as the one on the show. Cool, eh? _

_I'll be honest, I made some of that Newtonian/ Einsteinian stuff up. I vaguely remember talking about the difference between them in Philosophy of Science, but not really. Hopefully no physics whizzes come along to tell me how wrong I am!_


	18. Revelations

The Doctor paced. There seemed nothing else to do. He paced back and forth till he was sure that his black converses had worn a hole in the linoleum. But he couldn't sit still. He'd tried sitting in a chair, and he had only fidgeted. It seemed best to keep walking. He couldn't sit still if he tried. Not while his Rose was in surgery, and he didn't know whether she was going to live or die.

How could she leave him like this? How could she, when she promised that she would stay with him forever?

He turned sharply and began to walk the other way, twisting his wedding ring round and round his finger absently.

"Doctor! We got here as soon as we could!" Jackie threw her arms around him. The Doctor started. He hadn't heard her walk up to him. Behind her, Pete stood, nervously twisting his hands together.

"Have they said anything?" he asked.

The Doctor shook his head, Suddenly feeling his energy drained. He sank down into one of the uncomfortable, plastic seats.

"Nothing," he said, his head in his hands. "Nothing except that she's in surgery. They won't tell me anything more What if she dies? How shall I bear it?"

Jackie sat down beside him, and put an arm around his hunched shoulders.

"She's not going to die, Doctor."

"But what if she does?" he asked, not lifting his head. "She can't leave me alone like that. Not after everything we've gone through to be together. Not after I literally changed my genetic makeup so that I could be with her. She can't leave me alone like this. "

"She's _not_ going to die, Doctor!" said Jackie fiercely. "You can't think like that!"

Pete sat down on the other side of the Doctor.

"Jacks is right. You have to stay positive," he said.

The Doctor took a shuddering breath.

He played the image over and over in his mind, wondering if there was some way he could have stopped that bullet from hitting her, if there was some way he could have saved her. What irony! He could save the whole world but not his wife.

All he could see was Rose falling to the ground, a blood spot growing larger on her side. All he could see was the shock in her eyes as they found his. All he could see was the thud as she hit the ground, and the physical blow it had inflicted on him.

------

_"Oh," Rose said softly. Her eyes sought the Doctor's, and held them for a moment. Then, she crumpled to the ground._

_"No!" yelled the Doctor. He rushed towards her, kneeling beside her. He looked up at the bald man, his eyes shooting sparks. "Wrong move," he said. _

_The bald man laughed contemptuously. _

_"And what are you going to do?" he asked. _

_The Doctor straightened up. _

_"Heaven help you if she dies," he said, his voice hard and cold as steel. "Because no one else will. Not for nothing did the daleks call me the Oncoming Storm. If anything happens to Rose, there is nothing, _nothing_, that will stop me from making sure that you never live in safety again. Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will haunt you." _

_The Doctor fairly crackled with energy. At that moment, he was indeed the Oncoming Storm, the one the daleks had nightmares about, the last Time Lord in existence. _

_The bald man drew back a little. _

_"You don't scare me," he said, but his voice was uncertain. _

_"I should," the Doctor answered. "Because I just let the police in." _

_The police had been pounding at the inner door. Now they had it open. They began swarming into the room, their guns trained on the four terrorists, but the Doctor hardly heard them. All of his attention was focused on Rose, on cradling her in his arms. He was vaguely aware of Jackie beside him, ripping up the bottom of her skirt to stem the tide of blood. _

_"Rose?" the Doctor said softly. "Rose, you have to hold on. You can't leave me. You have to promise you won't leave me." _

_But Rose didn't answer. She had already lost consciousness. _

_"Sir?" a paramedic was tugging at the Doctor's sleeve. "Sir? We have to get her to an ambulance." _

_The Doctor nodded numbly, following as her body was lifted on a gurney._

_"You can't come," the paramedic said, holding his hand out to stop the Doctor from following her into the ambulance that waited outside. _

_"I'm her husband!" he protested. _

_The paramedic gave the Doctor a scrutinizing look. _

_"Get in," he said with a sigh. "But just you. No one else." He gave the hovering Jackie a glare. _

_The Doctor got in the ambulance beside the prostrate Rose. He absently tugged on his bowtie, his eyes never leaving her face. It came apart in his hands. _

_"I knew it was bad luck," he said. _

-------

"We just heard! What's the latest?" a redheaded whirlwind interrupted the Doctor's thoughts. Lily flung her arms around him and gave him a tight hug.

"John I'm so sorry!" she said.

The Doctor awkwardly patted her back.

Andy, pajama-clad toddler sleeping on his shoulder, gave the Doctor an apologetic look.

"We got here as fast as we could," he said. "Have you heard anything?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"Not since the ambulance brought her here. All they'll tell me is that she's in surgery." He slumped back down into the waiting room chair.

Marks sprinted in. He was dressed in a track suit, his normally tidy hair windblown. His eyes sought out the Doctor.

"Is she…?"

"We don't know," Andy said.

The Doctor got up and began to pace again.

"We'll just have to wait. I _hate_ waiting. That's the trouble with time travel; you never have to wait for anything. Now I'm on the slow path, and I have to wait, wait, _wait_."

"Stop it," Jackie snapped. "You're making me nervous just watching you. Sit down."

"I can't," said the Doctor wretchedly. "I should have been expecting something like this. Every Christmas. Every _bloody_ Christmas something happens. I told her, and she wouldn't listen, she just wouldn't…"

"Dr. Smith?" said a nurse, carrying a clipboard in one hand

The Doctor froze mid-pace.

"Yes?"

"Your wife is out of surgery. She's in critical, but stable condition right now, if you want to see her."

The Doctor sagged with relief. Lily clapped her hands together, and Pete hugged Jackie. Marks' eyes glowed with an inner fire, and he allowed himself a small smile.

"Follow me," the nurse said.

The Doctor followed.

"She's in ICU. If she lives through the night, she has a fighting chance of making it out of this. But I have to warn you, Dr. Smith, that there's a high chance she'll just lapse into a coma."

The Doctor nodded.

The nurse pushed the door open, and walked into the white, sterile room.

When the Doctor said Rose, so small and pale next to the huge machines that she was hooked up to, his heart broke. He rushed to her side, and kneeling down beside the bed he took her limp hand and kissed it. There were so many tubes and wires sticking out of her that there was hardly any Rose left.

"Dear heart," he murmured.

With a sympathetic, the nurse drew up a chair for him. He sat in it without turning his eyes away from Rose.

"How long have you been married?" she asked kindly.

"Six months. Such a short time!" the Doctor said, almost to himself. "Such a short time after having been the Lord of time. Can she hear me if I speak to her?"

"I don't know," said the nurse. "It's been known to happen."

"Yes. Speaking to people in comas can sometimes help them come out of it, right?" the Doctor clung to that fact.

The nurse smiled sadly.

"So they say."

The Doctor turned to her.

"Do _you_ think she'll be alright?"

The nurse shook her head regretfully.

"I don't know. I hope so. You seem so much in love."

"We are," the Doctor said, turning back to the still figure on the bed. "We are."

-------

After a quick visit to Rose's room, Lily and Andy left to take a sleepy Isabella back to bed. Pete finally convinced an exhausted Jackie to come back first thing in the morning, as long as the Doctor promised to call if anything happened.

The Doctor sat beside Rose's bed, holding her hand. It was past midnight. He was deep in thought. So deep, in fact, that when Marks shook his shoulder, he lifted his head off of Rose's bed with a start.

"I wasn't asleep!" he insisted.

Marks allowed himself a small smirk.

"No one was accusing you of it. But if you want to sleep, you can go take the armchair over on the other side of the room. I'll sit with her. I promise to wake you if anything happens."

"Stupid human body," the Doctor muttered. "I used to be able to go without sleep for days, and now it's only been a few hours and I'm getting sleepy."

"That's what they call growing older. I used to be able to pull all-nighters in uni too," Marks said.

The Doctor sighed, and ran a hand through his unruly hair.

"You'll be sure to wake me up, if…?"

"I will," Marks promised.

The Doctor gave up his seat beside Rose, and sat down in the comfortable armchair by the window. Within minutes he was sprawled across it, his head at an odd angle as he slept.

Marks shook his head, taking the hand that the Doctor had carefully placed back on the coverlet.

"You've got some husband there, Tyler. Refused to leave you, even when he was at the point of exhaustion. Bet this isn't how you saw your Christmas Eve turned out, was it?"

Marks smile was bitter. He sighed, and was quiet for a few moments. Then, he shook his head.

"Best to just have it out, I think. I wish I had the courage to tell you when you were awake.

"I know you probably can't hear me, but I've got to say it all the same. Sometimes I feel like I would burst if I didn't tell you. Dear Rose," he kissed her hand tenderly, and held it up to his cheek. "Please, Rose. I know I can never have you, that your heart belongs to someone else. But please, don't leave me. A life without you is… blank. I know, I tried it. When you shot yourself into another universe, to go find _him _I tried to forget you. To pretend that I never loved you. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't bear not seeing you every day. Something inside me withered.

"I've always loved you. Since the minute you stepped through the office door and spouted off about aliens. And every time you came up with an odd and genius solution to one of our problems I fell in love with you a little more.

"I tried to cover it up with sarcasm and bury it deep, because I knew you would never love me back. Even then you belonged to him. I used to hate him, you know." Marks jerked his head towards the sleeping figure of the Doctor. "I used to hate him for taking you away from me.

"But to me, you are perfect. And my withered heart will love you till the day I die. So you see, you can't leave me. If only to torment me more, to break my heart even further, please, Rose, don't go."

The man's face crumpled, and he hid it in the folds of the blankets. He was still for a long moment. Then, he straightened up, and tenderly placed Rose's hand back at her side. Then, he left the room without once looking back.

The Doctor watched his retreating figure through half-open eyes.

-------

When the nurse walked in, the Doctor was at his old post, beside Rose's bed. He smiled to her wanly as she came in.

"Good morning," the Doctor said.

She smiled.

"Good morning, Dr. Smith. How was the night?"

"Well she's still breathing," the Doctor said with a sigh. "And as far as I can tell, the antibacterials you have her on are fighting off infection admirably."

The nurse raised her eyebrow.

"You know something about medicine?"

The Doctor smiled wanly.

"Astrophysics, mostly. But I've seen enough injuries to know when one is healing or not."

The nurse checked the machines, and scribbled down numbers onto a chart.

"Well, Mrs. Smith is looking a little better today. She's got some colour. How are you doing, sir?"

"Lousy way to spend Christmas Eve," the Doctor said, running his hand through his hair.

The nurse put a comforting hand on his arm.

"She managed to pull through the night. That means that she has a much better chance of a full recovery."

"And will she wake up?" the Doctor asked.

The nurse looked over at Rose.

"That's up to her. She's a fighter, I can tell."

"Yeah," the Doctor said, looking at Rose's still face. "Yeah she is."

------

Pete watched the snow drift by the window. This was not how he had expected to spend Christmas Eve. They should be all home decorating and eating shortbread and singing carols. Tony should be hanging his stocking up by the chimney, and Rose reading him "Twas the Night Before Christmas", and Jackie arguing with the Doctor about the validity of telling Tony there was a Santa Claus, while they all sipped on eggnog and apple cider. A hospital room was no place for Christmas.

The door opened. It was the Doctor, a coffee in one hand and a tea in the other. He gave the coffee to Pete. Pete took a sip of the hot, dark liquid, and sighed.

"I'd give my right leg for some good coffee."

The Doctor smiled, and sipped his tea.

"I wish I had some tea made by Jackie. If there's one thing that woman can do, it's make a nice cup of tea."

Pete nodded his agreement. Holding the coffee in his hands, he looked down at Rose.

"It's funny. I never really saw myself as a family man. Jackie – the other Jackie – never wanted kids. So we never had 'em. Guess we just got too busy for that sort of thing anyways. And then lot you came, and suddenly I've got a grown daughter, and then I get my wife back, and then Tony… and suddenly I'm a father."

The Doctor smiled.

"Did I ever tell you about the time we visited you in the 80s?"

Pete shook his head, slightly confused.

"Well, it wasn't really you. It was Rose's actual father. We went back to the day he died. I didn't know Rose was going to try to stop him from dying. You can't change things like that, set things. But I was so in love with her that I would have done almost anything she asked."

"What happened?" Pete asked.

"She tried to save you. Almost tore a hole in the universe. That's how much she wanted to know her dad. You don't know how much it means to her that you were here."

Pete leaned forward, and brushed a stray hair away from Rose's face.

"She's not my real daughter, but I love her as if she was," he said softly.

The Doctor nodded.

"She has that effect, doesn't she? She worms her way into your heard and takes up residence there. I ought to know."

Pete sighed again, and got up.

"I'm off to the loo. You want to sit here?"

The Doctor nodded, and took Pete's place, again taking Rose's hand. He was absently tracing the pattern of the sheets when he felt something. Was that a squeeze?

All of the Doctor's attention was suddenly on Rose once more. He searched her face for any sign that she was waking up.

The second time she squeezed his hand there was no mistaking it.

The Doctor watched in breathless anticipation. Was she waking up? Was it possible that she was going to be alright?

Then, the Doctor saw the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, and thought perhaps he would never see again:

Rose opened her eyes, and smiled at him.

_Author's Note: OH. MY. GOODNESS. He's leaving. David Tennant is leaving Doctor Who. Isn't that the most tragic thing you've ever heard? I mean, I know that he can't be the Doctor forever, and it's the nature of Doctor Who to switch leading actors, and that he has to leave sometime and get on with his career, but I don't want him to! You always remember your first, and Ten was MY Doctor. _

_But I guess he needed to go. I mean, Ten belongs to Rose, and without her he will always be miserable. If he regenerates, he has the option to move on from her. But in his current regeneration, he will always belong to her. Good thing there's a 10.5 (Teen!Ten, as my friend calls him) who will always be Ten, albeit a human version of him. _

_I forget who it was that predicted that Marks was in love with Rose, but congratulations, you were right! I hope I've given subtle hints about it since the beginning, so it's not a weird bolt out of the blue for anyone. Also, I'm pleased that I got to fit in a conversation with Pete. I feel like I've been neglecting him, probably b/c he's hardly in the show so his personality is hard to gauge. _


	19. Radio Nowhere

Rose woke with a start.

"You alright?" the Doctor asked, leaning over her.

Rose nodded, shaking her head as if to clear the last scraps of sleep away.

"I had such a strange dream."

"Strange?"

Rose leaned her head onto the Doctor's shoulder.

"I dreamed I was walking in a wood. And I came to a stream and wanted to cross it. So I took my socks and shoes off, and was getting ready to wade across when a wolf stepped into my path. She wouldn't let me cross the stream."

Rose and the Doctor traded glances.

"Do you think…?" the Doctor asked.

"Nah," Rose answered. "It was just a dream."

They both smiled at each other.

A light above them flashed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," said a crackling voice over the intercom. "Please remain seated and fasten your seatbelts. We will begin out descent shortly. The temperature in Athens is a balmy 25 degrees, with clear skies."

"We're landing soon," said Rose.

The Doctor nodded, stretching his long legs as best he could in the cramped space.

"This would be so much easier if we had a TARDIS."

"Someday," Rose said. "Now that we've actually planted the coral piece in the ground, it should grow faster, right?"

"It's actually growing very well," the Doctor replied. "It sprouted roots in only a few months. I wasn't expecting it to need to go into the ground for a year at least."

"And now that it's planted, when will we have a fully grown TARDIS?" Rose asked.

"That depends."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Depends on _what_?"

"On how acidic the soil is, on how much sunshine it gets, on how often we put jalapeño peppers near the roots."

"I still can't believe our time machine _eats peppers_," Rose said.

"What? It reacts to the capsaicin!" the Doctor quickly leaped to the defense of his beloved ship. "It should take around 50 years to reach maturity."

"I thought you said 100 before," Rose said, surprised.

"I underestimated how it would react to the soil on earth. So I was off by a little. So sue me!"

"I should write this day on a calendar," Rose teased. "They day the Doctor admitted that he was wrong."

The Doctor grumbled under his breath. Rose laughed at him, then stopped short, her hand flying to her side as she winced in pain.

Immediately the Doctor was all concern.

"It's ok," Rose said. "I'm fine."

"You're a lousy liar," the Doctor said. "You want some water?"

Rose nodded, and the Doctor dived into a bag, pulling out a water bottle. She sipped it carefully.

The Doctor leaned over her, and buckled her seatbelt securely, then took her free hand, and waited for the plane to begin its descent.

------

"Mrs. Smith? The aisle is clear. You can leave the plane now." Leave

Rose smiled up at the stewardess.

"Thanks," she said.

"I'll get the, um…" the Doctor got out of his own seat and scrambled over Rose to the aisle.

"I hope you like Greece," the stewardess said, "It's a beautiful place."

Rose nodded.

"All the places I've been, I can't believe I've never been to Greece."

"Where are you headed?"

"A small town on the coast of the Mediterranean. Somewhere we can't get in trouble, so I can take it easy for a while," Rose said.

The stewardess smiled.

"Well you've come to the right place if you're looking for relaxation."

The Doctor came hurrying up the aisle.

"Here it is," he said.

The stewardess moved aside, and he came up beside Rose's plane seat. Carefully, he knelt down, and put his arms underneath Rose's knees, and around her back. Rose willingly put her arms around his neck, and he lifted her up. Gently, he moved her from the plane seat and sat her down into her new chair. The stewardess kindly handed Rose her bag, and the Doctor got behind her.

"Ready?" he asked.

Rose nodded, and the Doctor began to steadily push the wheelchair down the aisle towards the door.

-------

The Doctor looked up from the kitchen counter, and caught sight of Rose. She was directly outside the huge bay windows that overlooked the Mediterranean, sitting stiffly in her wheelchair. The Doctor sighed. He knew that she hated to be confined like that, but there wasn't much of a choice. When and if her body decided to heal itself, she could get out of the chair, but not before. Her brush with death had been much too close.

The Doctor put the ice cube tray back in the freezer, and picked up the two glasses. He was doing everything he could to make this little holiday as pleasant for Rose as he could. And as much like a holiday as he could. Even though she held her head high when people gave her sideways looks about her wheelchair, and joked about being different once again, the Doctor knew that it bothered her. So he was trying to make her feel as comfortable and happy as possible. He had even put a little umbrella in her drink. Using his foot to push the door open, the Doctor joined Rose out in the warm sunshine.

She turned her head and watched at him as he approached.

"I thought you'd gotten lost in that huge house," Rose said, smiling up at him. "Seriously, Doctor, how do you find these places?"

"I'm shagging the travel agent?" the Doctor suggested.

Rose chuckled softly. Doctor felt ridiculously pleased with himself: Rose hadn't laughed like that since the accident. He handed her the tall glass of coke, with the multicoloured umbrella in it, and pulled up a deckchair beside her.

"A lot of people bring their computers down for us geeks to fix when they break. You wouldn't believe the stuff I find on those hard drives," the Doctor said conversationally.

Rose smirked.

"You're blackmailing people?"

"I prefer to think of it as gathering favours to be called in at a later time," the Doctor corrected.

Rose pulled the umbrella out of her drink, and raised her eyebrow at the Doctor.

"It's a little too… Cuba… for Greece, isn't it?"

"I thought it was festive," the Doctor pouted.

Rose's face turned impassive, her eyes on the horizon where the sea met the sky.

"What're we celebrating?" she asked.

The Doctor gently took the umbrella out of her hand and held it.

"You being alive. I say that's reason enough to celebrate."

He leaned over, and kissed her gently.

Rose gave a small smile.

"Sorry for being grumpy," she said, leaning her forehead against his. "I guess I can't complain with being alive, can I?"

"Nope," said the Doctor with a forced cheerfulness. "If you'd have died I never would have forgiven you."

"Good to know," said Rose, taking a sip of her drink.

The Doctor thought about her lying in that hospital bed, covered in tubes, and shuddered.

"Please never do that to me again," he said softly.

"I'll try not to," Rose answered. "It just felt so much like old times back there. You, me, a crazy adventure, getting out of a difficult situation. And if anything went wrong, we had the TARDIS to fall back on."

"We can't be like that any more," the Doctor said. "We have to be careful. We both of us only have one life now."

Rose nodded, and twirled the umbrella around in her fingers contemplatively. Then, she picked up her drink.

"To life," she said, holding it up.

The Doctor clinked his glass with hers.

"To our life together," he amended.

------

"Please?"

"No."

"Doctor, please?"

"No!" the Doctor objected. "Rose, you're supposed to be resting."

Rose groaned with frustration.

"I'm sick of resting. If I rest any more, I'll go mad. Come on, Doctor. It's just one trip into town. I'll have visited Greece and not doing _any_ touristy things. Please?"

The Doctor looked helpless.

"You're supposed to be getting better," he said lamely.

"I won't get any better if I drive myself batty in this house!" Rose snapped.

The Doctor sighed.

"_If_ we go out – _if_ – will you promise to let me push the wheelchair, and not try to wander off?"

"How'm I going to wander off in a wheelchair?" Rose asked.

The Doctor scowled at her.

"You would find a way."

"Are we going then?" Rose asked eagerly.

"Yes, fine, we're going."

Rose gave him a brilliant smile.

"_Thank _you. Not that I don't love the seaside and all, but it's not like I can go swimming, and I want to see the town."

"You mean you want to go shopping," said the Doctor, handing Rose her purse.

"That too," Rose replied, grinning.

------

Rose lay with her head in the Doctor's lap. He was deep in a book, his specs pushed up his nose. Rose watched him as his face was screwed up in concentration, and every so often he would scribble a comment in the margins of the page.

Rose looked over to the water with something akin to longing. She would have loved to go swimming, but as the Doctor was constantly reminding her, she needed to rest. The Doctor was doing everything to make sure she was comfortable and happy, even surprising her with a brand new swim suit to wear, as a sort of apology for not getting to actually swim.

"You can sit in the water," he had said, hopefully.

Rose had sighed.

"Not the same, is it?"

"Well, I know I don't mind looking at you in that little bikini," he had replied, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Rose just rolled her eyes.

"You might look good in those swimming shorts if you weren't so skinny," she had teased.

The Doctor looked down at his Hawaii- themed swim shorts.

"What's wrong with them?" he had asked.

Rose smiled now at the memory.

"What're you reading?" she asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"A book," the Doctor answered absently.

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I see that. What's the book about?"

The Doctor looked up from his page.

"Wormhole physics, by Samantha Carter. Usually I read these books and am disgusted by the lack of knowledge these people have. But this woman, she's got it pretty well right. I'm very impressed."

"Someone who can keep up with you," Rose said, with a smile. "Maybe we should meet this woman."

"Who says I haven't already? Sam's a brilliant woman."

Rose gave him a mock scowl. She'd heard enough of the women he'd met in his travels not to feel threatened by any of them.

The Doctor grinned.

"She was also totally in love with her CO. It was quite funny to watch those two. Asked her to go with me, but she said she was needed where she was. We both save the galaxy in our different ways. She's blonde, you know. Always did have a thing for blonds." He played with a lock of Rose's hair.

"Mmmm… that feels nice," Rose let her eyes drift closed again.

The Doctor put down his book, and began to work his way through Rose's hair.

"It's getting long," he commented.

"I know. Do you think I should cut it?" Rose asked.

The Doctor thought for a moment.

"No, don't. We don't have to be always running any more, so it doesn't matter if it's long. It suits you. Long and elegant."

Rose chuckled.

"Blokes _always_ fancy long hair," she said.

"And yours is particularly nice," the Doctor replied.

Rose smiled, and let herself be carried along by the sensation of the Doctor's hands in her hair. Beside them, a radio played tunes softly. They were in Greek, but Rose enjoyed the music even if she could understand the words. The sunshine was warm, but there was just enough of a cool breeze to make it a comfortable temperature. The sound of the waves coming in and out on the shore was a peaceful background percussion.

"Hello?" said a strange voice, in English.

Rose sat up.

"What was that?" she asked.

The Doctor looked confused.

"There's no one around," he said, scanning in the beach.

"Hello, is anyone there?" said the voice, strangely static this time.

The Doctor cocked his ear, and then turned.

"It's the radio," he said, in a hushed whisper.

A stronger voice came through the speakers.

"This is Radio Nowhere. Is there anybody alive out there?"

Rose's eyes grew wide.

"Mickey?"

"_Mickey?_" the Doctor mouthed to her.

Rose held up her hand to silence him.

"Mickey, it's Rose. Can you hear me?"

"Anyone there?" asked a static voice on the other end.

"Mickey! What have you done now? I told you not to touch Tosh's equipment. Nobody but her knew what they did, and even then she only knew half the time," said another familiar voice.

Rose and the Doctor traded glances.

The Doctor leaned over the radio.

"Jack?" he called. He fished his sonic screwdriver, which he now carried everywhere with him again, out of a beach bag, and buzzed the radio.

"Captain Jack Harkness, can you hear me?" he asked again.

There was a pause.

"Jack Harkness here. Who's this?"

"It's pretty insulting when you don't even recognize our voices, Jack," Rose said, a smirk tugging at her lips.

"Rose?" Jack asked.

"Rose?" chimed in Mickey's voice.

"Where did this patch come out?" Jack asked.

"Blimey, we really can't go anywhere without interruption. Greece," said the Doctor.

"What're you doing in Greece?" a female voiced asked, the words tinted with a Welsh accent. "I thought you lived in London."

"We do, usually," Rose said.

"We're on holiday. Rose is recovering."

"Doctor! You're supposed to be taking care of her!" Jack said sternly.

"You know what she's like!" the Doctor objected. "She got shot."

"Not on purpose!" Rose objected.

Jack laughed.

"You two never change."

The Doctor looked thoughtful.

"Not that I'm not glad to hear from you, Jack, but how are you doing this? We're in another universe, in case you haven't noticed."

"That's my fault," said Mickey. "I was playing with some equipment left behind by someone who used to work here. I didn't think it would actually reach another universe."

"Tosh was experimenting with tapping the Rift's power to boost radio signals," said yet another voice.

A huge smile spread over the Doctor's face.

"Martha? When did you join Torchwood?"

"About the time you joined the ranks of the domestic," said Martha with a smirk. "I've had enough of UNIT's militarization. Torchwood is much more relaxed."

"But patching into the Rift- isn't that dangerous?" Rose asked, bringing them back to the topic at hand.

"Yes, that's why Tosh discontinued her research." Rose could hear the glare in Jack's voice.

"The Rift is unstable. If you use it like this, you risk further tearing," the Doctor said.

"I didn't know!" Mickey argued. "It's all junk on a desk to me!"

"I think you should shut this connection, and not use it again," said the Doctor, a little sadly.

Rose felt sadness wash over her as well. It was nice to talk to Jack again, even for just a few minutes.

"Well at least we know it works. We can use it if we ever need to contact you again," Martha said.

"The Doctor's right. We can't agitate the Rift any more than necessary," said Jack.

"Well if you ever need us, we're here," Rose said.

"How's the other me?" the Doctor asked suddenly.

Martha sighed.

"Not good, I think. He was forced to erase Donna's memory, so he's all alone again."

"What? Why?" Rose demanded, turning to the Doctor.

"She had a Time Lord consciousness. No human mind is equipped to deal with that," the Doctor said, sadly.

"I managed," Rose shot back.

The Doctor shook his head.

"This is different, Rose. She got it all at once, and it was burning out her own synaptic pathways. He had to erase it all, or she would die."

"We haven't heard from him since," said the Welsh woman. "It's not good for him to be alone."

"Gwen's right," said Martha. "He needs to find someone."

The Doctor's hand found Rose's, and he gave her a small, knowing smile.

"We should go," Jack said firmly.

"Bye!" Martha said.

"See you, Rose. Doctor, you take care of her," instructed Mickey.

"This isn't goodbye," Rose insisted, sniffing a little. "This is just till next time."

"Until next time," the Doctor repeated.

"Until next time, Doctor, Rose," Jack said.

The radio crackled, and then went silent. For a moment there was nothing but the crashing of the waves on the shore, and the sound of their own breathing. Then, the Greek songs came back, crooning softly as if nothing had happened.

"Well that was odd!" the Doctor said, forcing cheer into his voice.

Rose lay back on the blanket. The effort to sit up by herself for so long had worn her out.

"At least they know how to reach us if they need us," she said softly.

The Doctor didn't answer. He lay down beside her and took her hand.

_Author's Note: Remember a really long time ago when I asked for suggestions for this story? Well somebody suggested that Rose and the Doctor take a holiday. So here it is, complete with the Doctor in swimming trunks :-)_

_Has everyone seen the Children in Need special? It was really only a trailer of the Christmas special, but it looks so good! I know I said I wasn't excited about Cybermen, but then I found out that who could possibly be the Eleventh Doctor is in it. I'm not sure how I feel about him, especially when he used Ten's phrase "Allons-y". But then, I was upset when Nine left too, so I'm willing to give him a chance. _

_Thanks to I am the Lev for letting me borrow her radio-to-another-universe idea. I didn't put Fitz into the conversation… but I wanted to! _


	20. Federation Starship: part I

Rose looked at the dark blue door of her house with expectant eyes.

"We're finally home," she said with a sigh of relief. She kept insisting that she was fine, but the Doctor knew that the flight from Athens had taken a toll on her. He draped an arm around her waist, surreptitiously supporting her.

"Want to go in?" he asked.

Rose tilted her head to one side.

"It feels like so long since we were here. I want to take it all in."

The Doctor frowned. It wasn't exactly good for Rose to be standing outside in the cold, with soft flakes falling around them and their breath coming out in puffs. He let her stand there for a minute longer, and the dug the keys out of his pocket.

"Come on, you can admire from inside. Our house has an inside too, remember?"

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Yes, thank you for that."

But she didn't argue when the Doctor gently shepherded her through the open door into the hallway. Leaving Rose to take off her coat, the Doctor went back to the car and began unloading their luggage. Jammed in the back seat of the car was Rose's wheelchair. The Doctor shot it a smug look. Rose had decided that she had had quite enough of being an invalid, and didn't need it any more.

After all, the gunshot wound had healed nicely, and unless she did something to start the internal bleeding again, she should be totally fine. The Doctor didn't have any medical degrees attached to his title, but he had seen enough wounds on enough companions over the years that he knew how long they took to heal. The month in Greece had done her good. She had even managed to get a bit of a tan.

The Doctor returned to the house, loaded down with luggage, to find Rose in the living room, looking contemplatively at the Christmas tree. They had just left it after the disastrous Christmas Eve party, and it hadn't been taken down yet.

"Rose?" he asked, slipping his arms around her from behind.

Rose smiled, and leaned back.

"Hey."

"What're you thinking about?" the Doctor asked.

Rose didn't take her eyes off the brightly lit tree, with the presents still sitting under it.

"I was thinking that we missed Christmas," she replied.

The Doctor winced. He hadn't missed Christmas. He had just been in a hospital room, holding onto his unconscious wife's hand and hoping against hope that she would open her eyes again.

"I forgot," he said softly. "You love Christmas."

Rose nodded, a smile hovering on her lips.

"And I missed it this year. You think anyone would be mad if we made it up?"

"A make up Christmas?" the Doctor asked, turning Rose in his arms so that he could look at her.

She smiled.

"Sure. You know, invite my family over and open presents and eat turkey."

The Doctor could see the pleading in her eyes. She really wanted this. He felt a smile break over his face.

"Of course we can have Christmas!" he said. "But only if there's no adventures this time round. No shootings, or alien invasions, or brides coming out of nowhere, or ghosts and famous literary figures. Deal?"

Rose laughed.

"Deal."

-------

"Oh come on, that ref has got to be blind!" Pete yelled at the TV.

From the doorway to the kitchen, Rose smirked.

"Does he always do that?" she asked.

"Yes," Jackie replied, drying her hands on a towel. The mountain of dishes was only just finished. Jackie had offered her private chef and housekeeping staff for the occasion, but Rose had refused. It was more like old times, when there was just Rose and Mum, and they had to do everything themselves.

"Who's winning?" Rose asked the Doctor.

From his vantage point on the floor, the Doctor shrugged, and rolled the ball back to Tony. Tony squealed in delight as he caught it, and rolled it back.

"How'm I supposed to keep up with a football match? I always get the rules confused with Lucidian hopball, which is strikingly similar. In fact…" his speech was cut off by Tony's ball, which bounced straight into his face.

Rose chuckled.

"Try not to let my two year old brother beat you up, Doctor."

The Doctor scowled at her.

Jackie gently touched Rose's arm to get her attention.

"That was a great turkey, Rose."

"I'm just lucky ours was still in the freezer," Rose replied. "And after all, you brought everything else."

"The advantages of having a chef who has connections," Jackie said, smiling. She draped her arm around her daughter's shoulders, and pulled her in for a sideways hug. "I'm glad you're ok, Sweetheart. You certainly gave us a scare back there."

"I guess I ruined Christmas for you," said Rose with a grimace. "Sorry about that."

"As if that's what I care about," Jackie replied.

Rose leaned her head on Jackie's shoulder for a moment, smiling as she watched the ball being tolled back and forth between the Doctor and Tony. Tony bounced the ball enthusiastically, then let out a huge yawn.

Jackie checked her watch and then frowned.

"Actually, it's almost time for Tony to take his nap. Is it ok if I put him in the spare bedroom?"

Rose nodded.

"Sure, Mum."

Jackie scooped Tony up in one arm, despite his protests.

"Time for a little nap, Tony, sweet," she told him.

Tony protested loudly, but Jackie ignored his cries as she walked him up the stairs.

The Doctor got off the floor in one swift movement, brushing off his trousers.

"Well that was fun," he commented.

Rose smiled.

"You'd make a good father, Doctor."

The Doctor's smile was slightly wistful.

"It's a role I almost forgot how to play," he came to stand beside Rose, sliding into the place so recently occupied by Jackie, and pulling Rose into his arms.

"Merry Christmas, Rose," he whispered against her hair.

"I told you nothing weird would happen this time," Rose said.

The Doctor laughed, and she felt the vibrations in his chest.

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his hand, palm up, so that Rose could see the gold-wrapped box there.

"But… you already gave me a present," Rose said, surprised.

The Doctor grinned.

"I know. This one is special. Open it."

Rose freed her arms from around him, and took the box, curiously shaking it.

The Doctor smirked.

"You going to open it, or just look at it?" he asked.

The wrapping paper was on the floor in a second.

"Open it," she replied.

Inside was a long, flat black box. Rose opened it, and gasped.

"Oh Doctor," she whispered.

Inside, was a delicately linked silver chain. At the end was an ordinary looking key.

"My TARDIS key," Rose said. "I was looking everywhere for it, and you took it!"

The Doctor grinned.

"Guilty as charged. I wanted to make sure the chain fit it perfectly. No more wearing it on a bit of dirty ribbon any more."

Rose picked up the key.

"There's something written on it," she studied the tiny letters engraved into the side of the key. "_Wherever you are, I'm home," _she read.

The Doctor smiled.

"Very true."

Rose slipped the key over her head, and smiled.

"It's perfect, Doctor. So perfect."

"So you don't forget the old girl. Or me," he said.

Rose smiled.

"As if I could forget you, with you being a constant menace all the time."

The Doctor grinned and pulled her closer. Rose snuggled into his chest, with a sigh of contentment.

"_This_ is what Christmas should be like," she mumbled.

------

"Rose! You're back!"

Lily was the first one to react when Rose walked into her office. After a moment of stunned silence, the redhead had leaped up and given her a huge hug.

"Hi Lily," Rose said, laughing at her teammate's enthusiasm.

"We thought you were going to live in Greece or something," Andy said, a hint of laughter in his deep voice.

"Feeling better?" Marks asked, crossing his arms and leaning on the edge of a desk. He didn't come over to see her. Rose mentally scowled. Trust Marks to ruin the moment with his sourness.

"Yes, I'm much better. Fully healed, I would say," Rose replied.

"I'll be the judge of that," the Doctor said behind her. "I'm the doctor, after all."

Rose wrinkled her nose at the pun.

"You're not a medical doctor, I don't have to listen to you," she reminded him without turning around.

The Doctor just laughed.

"How was it?" Lily interrupted. "Tell me everything!"

"Let the poor girl catch her breath," Marks said, still standing back from the rest of them.

He was acting kind of strangely. Rose shot him a wary look.

"You're right, Richard. Sorry, Rose," Lily said, stepping back to give Rose some space.

"Don't be silly, Lil. You can crowd me any time you want," Rose replied, draping her arm around the small woman's shoulders.

"We've got a lot to fill you in on," Andy said, sitting at his own desk.

Rose turned to the Doctor, who was still standing in the doorway.

"You're hovering," she reminded him.

"I just want to make sure…."

"Stop hovering, Doctor," Rose interrupted. "Everything's going to be fine."

He nodded.

"Try not to get shot again, ok?"

"Mmmm," Rose replied noncommittally. She reached up on her tip toes for his kiss, and he pecked her lips, raising one hand to brush her hair back.

"See you after work," he murmured.

"Bye," Rose agreed. Then, she turned back to her office, and settled herself in her desk chair.

"Ahhhhhh," she sighed. "It's good to be back."

"Don't get too comfortable," Marks said, smirking. "We've got a lot of work to do on the shuttle today."

"Shuttle?" Rose asked, her interested perking up.

Andy grinned widely.

"Like I said, you missed a lot," he said.

------

The Doctor took the elevator down to the R&D department, hands thrust in his pockets, whistling the third act of the most famous Archetian opera. Of course it involved notes that human ears couldn't hear, but he skipped over those. Stepping out of the elevator, he looked around with a smile of satisfaction.

Everything was just as he had left it. Minus the Christmas decorations, of course, but then it was almost February. It would have been perverse to leave the decorations up that long. As he walked by, he waved to people.

"Hey Sal," he called to a tall girl with wildly frizzy brown hair.

"John! How is Rose?" she asked, smiling at him.

"A lot better. She's back to work today."

"That's good," Sally said. "We were all really worried about her. I guess you'll be joining Max to work on the shuttle?"

"Shuttle?" the Doctor asked, a little confused.

Sally put a hand over her mouth.

"Oh I forgot! You weren't here for that. I guess Maxie will fill you in." Something behind her beeped. "That's my bat signal!"

The Doctor waved.

"Later, Sally."

"Bye," she said absently, already busy with something else.

The Doctor shook his head, amused. Sally was a nice girl, but very scatterbrained. That's probably where she got all her best ideas – she was searching in that head of hers for something else.

The Doctor travelled the familiar path to his own little spot in all this chaos. Max was at his desk, his head bent over schematics. He didn't look up when the Doctor walked into the cubicle.

"Just put them over there," Max said, indicating with his finger to the Doctor's desk. "And try not to touch anything."

"Is that any way to greet your partner?" the Doctor asked.

Max's head shot up in a way that was almost cartoonish.

"John! You're back!"

"So I am. How observant of you."

"How's Rose? How was Greece?" Max asked, scrambling to get out of the reclining armchair that he had instead of a desk chair.

"Rose is much better thank you. Although I've been hard pressed to make her rest the last couple of days. Greece was nice. Very sunny."

Max came to stand beside the Doctor, punched him in the shoulder affectionately.

"Missed you, you know. Well, missed your incessant chatter about totally weird stuff, anyways," Max said.

The Doctor grinned.

"Missed you too, Maxie. What have you been up to?"

A spark to excitement kindled itself in Max's eyes.

"You haven't seen the shuttle."

"What is this shuttle that everyone keeps talking about?" the Doctor demanded.

Max's face was animated.

"Ah, mate, you missed it. This _huge_ alien space shuttle crash landed. And we hauled it outside the city to study it."

"Stripping it for parts?" the Doctor asked.

"Nah. It _works_."

The Doctor's eyebrows came together.

"I know!" Max enthused. "It was on autopilot when it crashed, and we've been fixing it up. You wanna see?"

The Doctor grinned.

"Of course!"

------

"A real space ship?" Rose asked, amused.

"You make it sound like it's a flying saucer," Andy said, laughing.

"It's actually really aerodynamic. Long, with segments, all silver and shiny," Lily said from the back of the car.

"Shiny is your criteria for cool?" Rose asked.

Lily sniffed.

"Wait till you see it."

Rose peered out the window expectantly.

"Are we there yet?"

"No," said Marks, rolling his eyes.

Rose leaned back in her seat, and was quiet for a moment.

"Are we there yet?"

"No," said Marks and Andy together.

"So tell me more about it," Rose said, after a moment of smug silence.

"Max has been working on it for the last couple of weeks, but we're all involved. The engine is like nothing I've ever seen. It's so far advanced from us that it's going to take us years to reverse engineer any of it."

"I thought you said that you weren't going to take it apart."

Lily made a face.

"Max is making us copy everything and put it back."

"It's long and thin, in segments," Andy said. "We figure that each segment has its own function, and that for each we're going to need to reverse engineer all the parts if we want to copy and understand it."

The black SUV turned off onto a gravel road, and the sound of the stones under the tired made it too loud to talk.

After another half hour of driving, they pulled into an opening where a lot of other cars were, and a large white government issue tent.

"Talk about conspiracy theories," Rose commented, hopping out of the car.

Flashing their identification cards, Rose and her team walked into the tent. Looming in front as soon as they entered was a long, snakelike space ship.

Rose shoved her hands in her pockets and whistled appreciatively.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," said a voice behind her.

Rose turned, and grinned at the Doctor.

"What do you say, Correllian Space Worm?"

The Doctor shrugged.

"With a few major modifications. Engine is reworked, as far as I can tell. And rather expertly I might add."

Rose nodded, smiling at Max as he walked past her.

"Hey girl. You here too?"

"Hey Maxie," Rose replied. "Showing John the engine?"

The Doctor nodded.

"They took the whole thing apart. Nice work by the way, Max."

Max shrugged, looking pleased with himself.

"It wasn't bad, for having you gone. Did the best that I could."

"So, what do you think?" Andy asked, strolling passed them into a section of the ship. He turned Rose, a question in his eyes.

"Very cool," Rose said, examining the interior of the ship.

"Yeah it's awesome," Max said. "I'm pretty confident that we can get it up and running in a few months. Have our own Federation."

The Doctor scoffed, still outside the door examining the outside of the ship.

"The idea of a Federation is full of holes."

Max made a face.

"Hater."

The Doctor grinned, and walked away from the entrance way.

"Pretty solid bulkheads," he commented, his voice muffled.

Rose wandered to the window, and peeked out, watching the Doctor examine the sides of the ship.

"You really think that we can get this ship up and running? Like a fleet?"

Andy shrugged.

"I don't see why not. This is just the beginning."

"Federation. Told ya," Max commented.

Rose rolled her eyes.

The Doctor strolled to the door.

"It looks pretty solid to me. I think with a little bit of tinkering this thing is going to fly."

He stepped inside the ship, his posture casual and teasing.

It changed to alert and defensive immediately as an alarm sounded, and the heavy bulkhead door behind him slid closed.

"What's happening?" Rose demanded.

Underneath their feet, there was a low rumble, and the floor started shaking.

Max looked around wildly.

"The av thrusters are starting. We're going into burn out."

"What does that mean?" Andy demanded.

Rose stared around the small space, her eyes wide. She knew exactly what it meant.

"It means we're taking off."

_Author's Note: So I thought I knew what I was going to do with this story, and then I totally changed my mind. Which is why this is so late. Also, I was busy reading the entire Twilight series. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Did I like it? Some parts more than others. Am I going to be a crazed Edward-squeeing fangirl? Probably not. _

_Anyways. For those of you who have been asking how much longer I plan on writing this story, these are going to be the last three chapters. I have a story arch planned for them, and then an epilogue to the story. I hope that's agreeable to everybody. _


	21. Slight Miscalculation: part II

"_The av thrusters are starting. We're going into burn out." _

"_What does that mean?" Andy demanded. _

_Rose stared around the small space, her eyes wide. She knew exactly what it meant. _

_"It means we're going to take off." _

"Take off? What do you mean we're taking off?" Max said, panicked.

"You're the tech genius you tell me," Rose snapped.

"Taking off, as in up in the sky?" Andy asked, as if afraid of the answer.

"As in, if we don't find a way to stop this thing we're going to be in space, yes," the Doctor said. He shoved his specs onto his nose, and squinted at the paneled surface of the wall. "There's got to be a control panel around here somewhere. Everyone look."

"What're we looking for?" Max asked.

Rose was already at the wall, running her sensitive finger pads over its smooth surface in order to detect anything.

"Cracks in the paneling," she said without turning around. "Buttons, levers, switches. Anything that could possibly pop out as a control board."

They began scanning the walls, running over them with their fingertips. All of the sudden, the pod they were in began to rock violently, flinging them all to the floor.

"We're exiting the atmosphere, hang on to something!" the Doctor yelled.

"Now he tells us," Max groused, clinging to a support beam.

They were flung back and forth and shaken hard as the pod burned through Earth's atmosphere.

Andy's huge body slammed into Rose, making her teeth clatter together.

"Sorry," he hissed.

Rose just clutched the edge of the counter and didn't respond.

They all knew the moment it broke atmosphere into space when the rocking stopped. And then there was an ominous stillness.

The Doctor got up off the floor, and held his hand out for Rose, who took it.

"Right, find that control board," he said.

Andy shot a panicked glance out the window.

"We're in space now."

"Yes," said the Doctor. "And I figure we have about thirty eight minutes before we break Earth's gravitational pull and float into space until we run out of oxygen in this thing, and then we all die."

'Thank you for that," Rose murmured.

"Panel," Max reminded them.

They all applied themselves to the wall again. Rose scanned the smooth metal wall surface with her eyes as well as her fingers, looking carefully, but there didn't seem to be any gaps or any indication that there was a control panel hidden behind them.

"Ahah!" cried out Max in triumph. With a smooth _hisss_, a part of the wall slid open, revealing a small panel with a screen and a board of buttons.

The Doctor hurried over to it and peered at the board through his specs.

"I knew there was one. These Correlian things always have control panels in every section."

"Why's that?" Andy asked.

"Because they eject when they detect intruders," the Doctor jabbed a long, thin finger at the screen. "Us. Or to be more specific, me."

Ah. Of course. Rose saw the problem immediately.

"Should have seen this coming, actually," Rose said.

The Doctor shrugged.

"Who was I know it was specially tailored for human physiology? Usually these things aren't that specific. Although judging by the way the engine was modified, I should have guessed there would be other personal touches…"

"What?" Andy demanded.

"That doesn't make any sense," Max said at the same time. "There've been lots of people all over this shuttle since we found it. I've been in here a million times checking everything out. I personally oversaw the removal of the engine. And it's never reacted like this."

"Ah yes, but _I've_ never been inside it," said the Doctor.

"Why would you make any difference?" Andy asked.

Rose exchanged a glance with the Doctor. He gave an infinitesimal shrug.

"Doctor," she said warningly.

"No choice, Rose," he replied. He pointed to the screen.

"What do you see?"

Max squinted at it.

"Four blue dots and one red dot."

"The blue dots are for humans," the Doctor said.

"And what's the red dot for?" asked Andy.

The Doctor sighed.

"Me."

"But that would mean you're…" Andy trailed off, his dark eyes huge with the shock of the conclusion he was drawing.

"Yeeeeeep," the Doctor said.

"Actually, that kinda makes sense," Max said, staring at the Doctor contemplatively.

"You're not human?" Andy asked.

The Doctor shook his head.

"No, not human. Well, not totally human. Well, not totally Time Lord any more either. I'm somewhere in between. I'm _mostly _human."

"You're not human," Max said. He didn't look startled at the news, just curious.

"No, not completely. I've got just enough Time Lord DNA left in me to trigger a reaction from the security system. Which did what it was designed to do when it detects an intruder, and jettisoned the segment."

"Did you know he wasn't human before you married him?" Andy asked Rose.

Rose smiled.

"He was a lot more alien when I met him. He's more human now, what with only one heart and only one life."

"Did he used to have two?" Max asked.

"Two hearts. More than two regenerations. Thirteen, in fact. I'd used up ten by the time I met Rose."

"You knew?"

"I said I used to travel with him," Rose said. "I didn't say we travelled on _Earth_. Although that was where we usually ended up."

The Doctor smiled.

"Not my fault your little planet gets in a lot of trouble."

"Hang on, I thought you said this thing came from outer space," Max said, interrupting their conversation.

"Yeah, it did. Corellian design," the Doctor replied.

"Then how is it configured for human physiology? If it was made by these Corellians, how come it recognized humans as not being intruders, but you – whatever you are – to be one?"

"Good question," Andy muttered.

"What, you think Earth is the only planet that has humans on it?" the Doctor asked. "There are lots of other planets that support humans. In fact, this bi-pedal form is the most convenient and most widely used form in the galaxy. Much better than, say, the blob shapes of Gragnok six, which are very…"

"Doctor," Rose interrupted.

"Right, sorry. Got carried away," the Doctor said, taking the interruption in stride. "This ship is Corellian in design, but was rebuilt for humans. The engine's been reprogrammed by someone who really knew what they were doing. Most of those old Corellian Worm engines are held together with chewing gum and prayers. Reminds me of old Firefly engines. Best ship in the 'verse, Fireflies, but the engines take constant maintenance and a trained mechanic to keep going. Someone did some serious work on this Worm before the engine looked like it does now. I know a girl who would _love_ to get her hands on that engine, whatever's been doing to it."

"So the security system was reconfigured for humans only?" Andy asked, cutting to the chase.

"Right," the Doctor nodded. "I have human DNA in me, but enough Time Lord was left up here," he tapped his temple. "To set off the system."

An alarm beeped.

"Speaking of which, we've got to stop this pod from getting any further out into space, or we won't have enough fuel to turn around."

"How much fuel do we have?" Max asked.

The Doctor typed into the keyboard and strange symbols appeared on the screen.

"According to this, if we continue in a straight line we have enough for an hour of hard burn. Which, consequently, will take us half way to Mars. Then we'll lose power and float around aimlessly in space until we run out of air."

"Won't we run out of air before then?" Andy asked. "There's four of us and this isn't a very big space." His eyes traveled the length and breadth of their makeshift prison.

"Oh that's easy. As long as the engine is going, the oxygen scrubbers are cleaning the air for us. When they shut down, we're on a timer," the Doctor replied. "Right. So it seems to me that what we need to do is first shut this thing down before we leave Earth's gravity in – " he checked his watch. " – dear me, eleven minutes. Then, we need to reverse the thrusters, and get back to Earth in one piece."

"How do we shut down the engine?" Max asked. "The thing is in lock down. We've tried to fiddle with each compartment's engines before, and they each have a different configuration. It's like a riddle we have to crack every time."

Rose looked expectantly at the Doctor, and he smiled.

"That's because you didn't have me," he said.

From out of his jacket pocket, he pulled his sonic screwdriver. He buzzed the controls. Nothing happened. He fiddled with the settings on the screwdriver, then buzzed them again. He cursed under his breath, and turned to face the others.

"Deadlock sealed," he said, disappointed.

"Worth a try," Rose said.

"Makes sense, though. They didn't want anyone getting into the ship's controls and turning this thing around." The Doctor grinned widely. "I love a challenge."

"I think we should first see what we have to work with," Rose said. "That way we know what we can use to get this thing going. Who knows when we might need a holocaust cloak and a wheelbarrow, yeah?"

The Doctor grinned.

"Rose is right, we need to take stock of our assets."

"Right, everyone, empty your pockets," Rose said.

She reached into her own pockets, and pulled out a bit of paper, some string, some hair pins, a tiny bottle of moisturizer, and a tube of lipstick.

Andy shot her a strange look and then shrugged. Max did the same, and together they emptied their pockets out onto the floor. Between them they had 3 pounds 46 cents in change, two leather wallets, one safety pin, one sparkly barrette, and a pen.

Rose turned expectantly to the Doctor.

There was a slightly sad look on his face.

"Not as dimensionally transcendental as they used to be," he said.

"I know you've got_ something_," Rose encouraged.

The Doctor reached into his trouser pockets, and began to pull things out. A pocket knife, a carefully wrapped sandwich, several crumpled bits of paper, some wire, some silly putty, a nail, three oak leaves with an acorn attached, and a spool of thread.

The Doctor then reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, laying it on the pile.

"Anything we can use?" Andy asked.

The Doctor scrutinized the pile.

"Well, what we need to do first is break the coding in the eject sequence. Then we can shut down the engines." He seized a hair pin. "This might work."

The Doctor hurried to the panel, using his teeth to bend the pin out of place. He bent down and slipped the pin into the bottom of the panel.

"It's a complex computer system, John," Max said. "I don't think you can jimmy it like you would a car."

"That depends," the Doctor said. "These older Corellian models have some small programming flaws. I've found that if you stick something small and sharp right here… ahah!." There was an audible _click_ as something inside the console gave way. " – you can hotwire it," the Doctor finished.

"Doctor," Rose called, glancing out the window. "We're getting awfully close to the moon now."

"If we pass it, we're pretty much out of Earth's gravity," Andy said.

"I just need to shut down the engines, and we'll be able to float around the Earth until we figure out a way to turn around and refire the thrusters," the Doctor said. He picked up his sonic screwdriver, and buzzed the screen. Green letters began to flow over the dark background.

"Except if you turn off the engines the air scrubbers stop working, right?" Max said.

The Doctor shrugged.

"One crisis at a time. Rose, string?"

Rose handed him the small bundle of string, and he expertly looped it around two levers, holding them in opposite directions.

His fingers flew over the keys as he typed in commands for the engines to follow.

"Somebody press the orange button," he instructed.

Andy, who was closest, pressed the button, holding it down.

"Now, all we need to do is type in the correct command code…" the Doctor peered at the screen, and typed furiously. "And the engines should shut down."

There was a moment where nothing could be heard except for the whir of the engines. Everybody held their breaths.

Then, the gentle humming of the engines kicked out. There was complete silence.

Everyone drew a sigh of relief.

"It's off?" Andy confirmed, taking his finger away from the orange button.

"I think so," the Doctor said.

He looked at the screen again, and his face broke out in a huge smile.

"And we're caught in Earth's gravity. In fact, we should be able to get a good view of the lovely planet _now_."

Rose looked out the small window, and drew in an involuntary breath. Earth was so beautiful from space. It was a perfect blue-and-green marble, with white clouds swirling across the surface like the inside of a snow globe. She had seen planets from space before, of course, but rarely had she had the opportunity to see her own like this. The TARDIS didn't exactly fly around place in the literal sense of the word, and the void wasn't very picturesque.

The Doctor's hand slipped into her own, and she was reminded of the first time she had gone anywhere with him, on the day when this Earth was destroyed. She had watched it then, too. Only it had looked very different.

"It's beautiful," Max breathed.

"Kinda makes you remember what we're fighting _for_ down there, doesn't it?" Andy asked.

The Doctor nodded. He had come to stand beside Rose, his hand securely in hers.

"Brings everything into perspective, seeing Earth from up here," Max murmured.

"All those humans down there," Andy said softly. "Living their lives, never knowing that there's a whole dangerous universe out here. And we've got to protect them."

"Almost worth the harrowing, death-defying experience," Max quipped, with a smile. "To see this."

But Rose wasn't listening any more.

"Humans," she murmured.

The Doctor turned to her.

"What was that?"

"Hold on a second," Rose said. "You said four humans."

Everyone was looking at her now, startled.

"What?" the Doctor said, confused.

"Four humans," Rose repeated. "When you read the scan it said four humans and you. There's only three humans. Unless someone is hiding in here." She cast a quick look around the pod, which didn't leave very many hiding places.

The Doctor blinked.

"So I did." He turned to the control panel and began to typing, pulling up the life signs detector again. "Yep, here it is. For humans and… me. It doesn't quite know how to classify me, because technically I don't have a classification. Metacrisis isn't its own category."

"Is the scanner wrong then?" Andy asked.

The Doctor shook his head.

"I don't think so. If it was broken, it wouldn't have detected that I've got non-human DNA, and we wouldn't be in this jam in the first place." He peered questioningly at the screen through his specs. "Hmmm. It looks like two of the life signs are very close together. Almost on top of one another. Any of you standing on the others' shoulders?"

Everyone shot him a strange look. Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Right," the Doctor said, turning back to the screen. "Of course not. How silly of me. But the fact remains that two of the life signs are on top of each other. Andy, can you step forward so I can see which dot is you?"

Andy stepped forward, and the dot on the far left moved.

"Max?"

Max stepped forward, and the dot in the middle moved. All that was left was the dot to the far right, the one with the extra dot on top of it. The Doctor turned to Rose.

Rose looked behind herself, turning in a circle.

"I don't see anyone else," she said. "Could it be a parasite or something? Wouldn't be the first time."

She looked down, checking herself carefully. If she had an alien parasite in her, it would just be one more thing to deal with before they touched down safely on Earth.

The Doctor shook his head.

"Detector says it's human," he said. "Hang on a minute; I'm going to increase its power." He buzzed the screen with the sonic screwdriver, and it increased the power, now that the deadlock seal was off.

The dots on the screen got bigger, and clearer. There was something strange about the extra dot on Rose. It was fuzzy and smaller than the rest. It flickered in and out, almost as if it was in flux.

"That's strange," the Doctor said. "The extra life sign seems to be weaker than the others. And it's fluctuating. Now that might mean that it's going in and out of time, but the sonic screwdriver isn't picking up any temporal anomalies. I mean, after being around them for so long I'm rather sensitive to them myself. Part of my Time Lord physiology that I've retained is the ability to see which events are in flux and which aren't. And you don't appear to be in flux, Rose. Hmmm… most strange. It's almost as if it… oh."

He stared at Rose with wide eyes, his expression shocked.

Rose looked down at herself again.

"What?"

The Doctor was silent, just staring at her with a panicked expression.

A bubble of panic welled up in Rose. There must be something terribly wrong, for the Doctor to be looking at her in that way.

"Doctor, what is it? If it's something bad, tell me right now. Don't spare me."

The Doctor seemed to need a moment to collect his thoughts.

"It's – ah – not _bad_, exactly, Rose," he said. His voice was almost _tender_. Rose's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Then what?"

His eyes travelled from her face down to her middle, and lingered there.

And then it clicked.

Rose's hand fluttered to her stomach, and her eyes growing wide as well.

"Oh. _Oh_."

_Author's Note: I haven't seen the Christmas Special yet. Don't tell me anything about it! All I know is – Cybermen. And as you know, I'm not too excited about that. Cybermen have been done to death. Time for a new supervillain in the coming seasons, Steven Moffat! _

_Uh oh, I think Rose and the Doctor are in over their heads. And I'm not just talking about being stuck in space! I went a little allusion-crazy this chapter, but what can I say? I just finished watching _Firefly_, which I totally love and am heartbroken only lasted 14 episodes. The characters are so amazing! And Kaylee is my favorite. As an expert mechanic, it stands to reason that the Doctor knows her, LOL. _

_Also, the funniest comment I got on this fic (besides a proposal of marriage, but that's another story altogether!) was my friend's constant shipping of Max. She seems to think that Max would be really good with her OOC Fitz, who in her story is the Doctor's daughter. So now I can't write Max without thinking about that. Way to go, Natasha. _

_I should have the next couple of chapters of this up soon. Like, within the next few days. _

_Merry Christmas, everyone! _


	22. Lost In Space: part III

_Rose's hand fluttered to her stomach, and her eyes growing wide as well. _

_"Oh. _Oh_." _

"Really?" Rose said. "Are you sure?"

The Doctor glanced down at his sonic screwdriver, fiddling with the dials. Then, he carefully scanned Rose.

"Elevated levels of hormones in the bloodstream. Change in body chemistry. No doubt about it."

"Wow," Rose murmured, her hand splayed out on her still-flat stomach.

"Congratulations. Can we talk about this later?" Max interrupted. "The engines have been shut off, and if my calculations are correct we only have about 80 cubic meters of air between the four of us. Unless you don't breathe air?" He inclined his head towards the Doctor.

"I breathe air," the Doctor said. He held Rose's eyes for a moment, and then turned away. "Max is right. First things first. We have to get the engine going again."

"Why don't you just type in the command to make it go the other way?" Andy asked.

The Doctor made a face.

"If only it were that easy. You see, I can make the thrusters send us back to Earth, but it would take more energy than we can spare to start them up."

He bounded over to the control panel.

Rose stood frozen in her place, her hand not moving from its position against her middle.

Andy touched her arm.

"You ok?"

Rose blinked, and then nodded.

"What do you mean, more energy than we can spare?" Andy asked, gently pushing Rose towards the others, his hand on the small of her back.

"Well, this engine isn't very efficient. One of the many reasons Corellian Worms aren't used much any more. The engine uses a huge amount of fuel getting started. Once it has ignited, it's relatively economical, but to start this thing up, we would have to use more fuel then we've actually got."

"Why didn't you mention that before you shut the thing off?" Max asked, sounding annoyed.

"There wasn't time," the Doctor admitted.

Andy glanced down at the pile of things from their pockets that was still in the middle of the floor.

"Hang on a second," he said. "Seems to me our problem is that we need to get the engine started without using any of our reserved fuels. Right?"

"Right," the Doctor said.

Andy reached down and scooped up a small bottle from the pile.

"Then I have an idea." He held up the bottle of hand lotion. "Did you know that mixed with monohydric alcohol that this can be highly explosive?"

"My hand cream?" Rose asked, surprised.

"Sure," Andy said. "I may not know much about anything else, but I know what stuff explodes."

"Monohydric alcohol? That's beeswax," the Doctor said, a dent appearing between his eyes as he frowned in concentration. "Where are we going to get beeswax?"

Andy held something up triumphantly. It was a tube of Rose's lipstick.

A grin started spreading itself across the Doctor's face.

"Oh, that's brilliant," he said appreciatively.

"When I mix the cream and the lipstick together, and add a spark, the alcohol in the lipstick will react with the ingredients in the cream and start a burn that will ignite the rest of the fuel so the engine won't have to use up any in producing a spark."

"That actually might work," Andy said, looking impressed. "One problem, though. It has to be applied directly to the engine."

"That's not a problem," the Doctor said. "The engine's right under our feet." He pointed down.

"What? They put the engine right under the floorboards?" Max asked.

The Doctor shrugged.

"I told you these Worms weren't very well built."

He knelt down on the ground, pushing the pile of things away. Andy fished his wallet back out, as did Max.

Sure enough, the middle panel had screws on it, and looked like it could be hoisted up. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

"You're going to unscrew screws with that?" Rose asked, kneeling beside him.

"Well it _is_ a screwdriver," the Doctor said.

"I've just never seen you actually use it on screws," Rose murmured.

"I have… on occasion."

The Doctor pointed the screwdriver at each screw in turn, and a familiar high-pitched buzzing sound was heard as each screw began to unscrew itself from the floor. When the last screw had fallen out, the Doctor leaned back.

"We're going to need something to hoist it up with," he said.

Max reached behind him to the discarded pile of things, and grabbed the pocket knife. He flipped open the longest knife, and inserted it into the crack. He pushed down on the end of the handle, and the panel began to move upward.

Immediately, Andy got his fingers under and caught it. The Doctor helped him lift it off.

A wave of heat hit Rose. It was stifling! She leaned away from the warmth. The top of the engine, when she was able to look at it, seemed to be only thirty or so centimeters from the panel that they had just lifted out.

"Too hot," the Doctor said. "We're not going to be able to touch it until to cools down."

"How long will that take, do you think?" Max asked.

The Doctor seized a hairpin, and reaching into the hole created by the removed panel he balanced it on the top of the engine.

"While it's still too hot to touch it'll be giving off magnetic impulses. We were shielded before by the paneling. When this pin falls, we'll know that the magnetic impulse has died down, and the engine is cool enough to touch."

"What do we do in the meantime?" Rose asked.

"We wait," said the Doctor.

"I'll get this stuff ready," Andy said, moving to the far corner of the pod with the ingredients. "Can I borrow your hat?"

Max gave a longsuffering sigh.

"The things I do to save our lives," he said. He held out his hat while Andy poured the hand cream out into it.

Rose slid down the opposite wall from them and drew her knees up to her chest.

The Doctor came to sit beside her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Rose shook her head.

"No. I'm going to have a baby."

"Is that a bad thing?" the Doctor asked, his face worried.

"No, just… unexpected. And this wasn't exactly how I wanted to find out."

"I know," the Doctor said. "It's a little overwhelming, isn't it?"

Rose gave a short laugh.

"Just a little," she said. She leaned her head against the Doctor's shoulder.

"But brilliant," the Doctor said.

Rose smiled.

"Yeah. Brilliant."

"It'll be fantastic. I'm going to be a father again. Can you imagine it? Little girl with blond plaits dashing around?"

"Little boys with huge hair and a bent for mischief?" Rose asked.

The Doctor smiled.

"Exactly."

"Well, we have to get out of this first," Rose said.

"We always get out of it," the Doctor reminded her.

Rose pressed her face against his shoulder.

"I'm scared."

And the Doctor knew that she wasn't referring to the fact that they were in space and running out of air.

"Me too," he admitted. "But we're going to get through this, together. Being parents isn't our scariest adventure by any stretch."

"Maybe it is," Rose said.

"Come here," the Doctor opened his arms, and Rose slipped into them, accepting his comforting hug.

Silence descended in the pod. Andy was mixing feverishly into Max's hat while Max watched. Rose snuggled deeper into the Doctor's arms, taking comfort from his nearness, while the Doctor rested his cheek on her hair, deep in thought.

There was a tiny metallic _ping_.

"Ah hah!" the Doctor said. "That's our hair pin falling!"

Rose detangled herself from his arms, and they leaned over the hole in the floor.

The Doctor reached in, laying a long, slim finger on the top of the engine.

"It's cooled down enough," he said.

"Good," said Andy. "Because this stuff's ready. I'm going to pour it into the pan at the top, and then I've got to get a spark. I don't suppose anyone has a lighter?"

The four exchanged wry glances.

"Nope," Rose answered.

Max examined the Swiss army knife that he had used to pry the panel loose.

"This has a light," he said.

"If we can refract the light off of something, we can create a spark," Andy said.

"What about my spectacles?" the Doctor asked, offering them.

Andy shook his head.

"Not reflective enough. We need something hard."

Rose looked down at her hand, and then twisted her ring loose, holding it out.

"The diamond," she said in way of explanation.

Andy looked at her, surprised.

"Something might happen to it," he objected.

"If it does, you can buy me another one. We have more important things to worry about. Like running out of air," Rose reminded him.

The Doctor gave her a small smile.

"Ok, here we go," Andy said. He poured the mixture of hand cream and mashed up lipstick into the small hole at the top of the engine. He stuck a piece of the string in to act as a wick. Max pointed the penlight at the pinkish mixture, and Andy carefully angled Rose's diamond in place to reflect the light. There was a long moment where nothing happened.

Then, the string began to smoke. It smoked more violently, and then it caught fire.

Andy hissed in triumph, then moved back.

"Put the cover back on, quickly," he said. "There's going to be a bit of an explosion."

"Now he tells us," Rose complained as she shunted the missing panel closer to the hole.

The Doctor scooped it up, and pushed it in place just in time. There was a small _bang_! as the mixture ignited, and a tendril of smoke escaped the cracks of the panel.

The hum of the engine started up again, and the pod lurched into movement.

Max scrambled to the window, and looked out.

"We're moving towards Earth!" he said excitedly.

Rose grinned, and punched Andy lightly in the shoulder.

"Well done," she said.

"You said I didn't warn you before – well, this is your warning. We're going to hit atmosphere again, and it's going to be bumpy. Bumpier than last time, actually, because we don't have enough fuel for shock absorbers," the Doctor said.

"Oh goody," Max muttered, securing himself to a support again. The rest did the same around the various wall supports attached to the smooth paneling of the sides of the pod.

"Doctor, do we even know where we're going to land?" Rose asked, as she clung to the pillar. The Doctor, leaning protectively over her, frowned.

"No. We could end up anywhere."

"So how're we going to get rescued then?" Max demanded. "We could end up in a desert! Or in the middle of an ocean!"

The Doctor suddenly grinned.

"Not to worry. I'll activate the homing beacon. All segments on the Worm have one. Believe it or not, losing a segment is quite a regular occurrence."

"Oh, I believe it," muttered Andy.

The Doctor hurried over to the control panel.

"Doctor, what about when we hit atmosphere?" Rose asked, a little panicked. The pod was already beginning to shake ominously.

"I'll be fine. You just hold on tight. You're more breakable than I am," the Doctor replied.

Rose rolled her eyes, but didn't respond to that comment. Now wasn't exactly the time to argue the point.

The Doctor buzzed the screen with his sonic screwdriver, and typed furiously.

"There," he said. "I've activated the homing beacon. Now I'm going to send out a message so they know it's us." He pressed a button and began to speak. "To anyone who is listening: this is a message for Torchwood One in London England. If you don't know what that is, you probably don't have high enough clearance. Send this message on to the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, and they'll be sure to pass it on. This is Dr. John Smith of Torchwood One. I have with me Rose Smith, Max Davenport, and Andy DiMatto. We've had a little bit of a mishap and we might need rescuing. Please follow the homing beacon I've activated, and send the Valiant to come get us."

The pod began to shake violently. Rose clung to her support, wrapping both her arms around it and interlocking them. The Doctor hung onto the consol, bracing himself against the movement.

For a moment, the pod lost gravity, and Rose felt herself floating up into the air. She hung on tighter, and waited for it to return, which it did in a moment. Then, it was as if they were too heavy. Rose felt herself being pinned to the floor by the force of their speed.

"John, we're going too fast!" Max yelled. "We're going to disintegrate in the atmosphere!"

"Not if I can help it," the Doctor growled. He began frantically pushing buttons. The weight lessened. Rose scrambled to her feet, although she didn't let go of her support beam.

"There," said the Doctor. "I've reactivated a few of the dampners. That should slow our descent down, but it also means we'll have less fuel. The last hundred or so meters of our descent is going to be free fall."

"Let's hope we land in the ocean," Andy said.

"Or a snowdrift," murmured Rose.

Andy shot her a half amused look.

The shaking stopped.

"We're out of the atmosphere," the Doctor breathed.

A crackling noise filled the pod.

_"Unidentified craft," _it said. _"You have entered US airspace. Please identify yourself." _

The Doctor lurched forward, pressing down the microphone button.

"Hello? Yes, we need to get a message to UNIT."

_"You have entered US airspace," _the voice repeated. _"You are requested to identify yourself and provide landing coordinates." _

"That's the thing," the Doctor said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We don't know where we'll be landing. In fact, we're more than likely going to crash. We're not exactly in control of this vehicle."

_"We've been commanded to escort you to a landing place,"_ said the voice.

"That's the thing. We can't land," the Doctor said, frustrated.

_"Are you in need of assistance?" _

"Yes. We need to contact UNIT immediately. Tell them it's Torchwood."

_"I'll talk to my superior," _the voice said.

The Doctor ran and hand through his hair, making it stand on end.

"Last time I dealt with you bloody Yanks I ended up getting shot and kissing a doctor. Sorry, Rose," the Doctor said, turning to her.

Rose raised an eyebrow at him.

The voice on the other end of the line crackled to life again.

_"You're being transferred to UNIT," _it said.

There was a moment of silence, and then another voice came on the line.

_"Dr. Smith? This is Brigadier Hopkins. I understand you're in a spot of trouble." _

The Doctor grinned.

"Hello Brigadier Hopkins! I think we're going to need the use of your lovely ship the Valiant."

"John?" Andy said. He was at the window again. "The ocean's coming up fast."

"Right," said the Doctor. "Everyone stand at the opposite side from the door. That way, this side will be heavier, and the pod will float with the door up."

Andy and Max joined the Doctor by the control panel opposite the door. Rose squeezed herself at his side, and took his hand. He spared a moment to smile down at her.

_"Got your communication. Valiant on her way, Dr. Smith," _said Brigadier Hopkins.

The water was rushing up at a tremendous velocity. Suddenly, the gentle thrumming of the engine cut out.

"That's it," Andy said. "She's run out of fuel. Everybody hold on!"

The pod went into free fall. The ocean was suddenly filling the window. And then with a tremendous _splash!_ the pod hit the water.

All four occupants of the pod were knocked off their feet, sent into a sprawling tangle.

"Rose!" the Doctor yelled. "Are you alright?"

"I'd be fine if Max would get off of me," she replied, her voice muffled.

"Sorry," Max said, wriggling off of her.

"Rose," the Doctor said. "You're going to have to be careful from now on."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Not made of glass, Doctor," she reminded him.

"But you are carrying a child," he replied, helping her to her feet. His eyes roamed over her, looking for injury.

"I'm fine," she insisted.

The Doctor gave her a long look, and then nodded his head.

Andy was craning his neck to see the door of the pod, which was now the ceiling.

"How're we going to get out?"

The communicator crackled to life again.

_"Dr. Smith? This is Brigadier Hopkins. We see your craft, and we're attempting to mount a rescue. Hold tight." _

"Yes sir," the Doctor said, grinning.

There was a clanking on the side of the ship, and the screech of metal on metal. Then, the door was forced open, and sunlight poured in.

"Hello," said a black-suited figure. "Heard you needed a lift."

-------

One by one, the four were lifted from the pod and into the Valiant by holding on to a black-suited person. The Doctor insisted that Rose go first, and for once she hadn't objected.

It was frightening to be flown through the air clutching the shoulders of a stranger, but no scarier than flying by the rope of a barrage balloon, Rose reasoned with herself. One moment she was on the top of the pod, and the next in the air, and the next being hauled into the opening in the belly of a flying ship.

She was never gladder to be on solid ground (metaphorically speaking) in her life as when her feet set on the floor of the Valiant holding bay.

A smartly-uniformed man, about thirty years of age, with a severe haircut and a large mustache, saluted her.

"Welcome aboard the Valiant, Ma'am," he said.

"Thank you," Rose said. "You're the Brigadier?"

"At your service," he said, with a smile.

Rose held out her hand.

"Rose Smith."

"Please to meet you, Ms. Smith," Brigadier Hopkins said, shaking her hand with a smile.

By this time, Max had been deposited onto the Valiant floor, and the rescue team had gone down for the next person.

Max walked up to Brigadier Hopkins.

"Is there any way to save the ship?" he asked.

"Is it that important?" the Brigadier asked.

"You have no idea how important," Max said ruefully. "Even more so now that we know what it can do."

"I take it there was some sort of accident," the Brigadier said. "And you were airborne?"

"More than airborne," Max said. He pointed up. "Up, up, and away. We nearly passed the moon."

Brigadier Hopkins nodded.

"We'll see what we can do to recover your craft. We'll want a full report from Torchwood of course."

"Of course," Rose said smoothly.

Andy was just being set on his feet behind her.

"Wow, what a ride," he said with a grin.

Rose stood at the edge of the opening, waiting anxiously as the rescuers brought the Doctor up. He had hardly had time to get his balance back and brush off his jacket before Rose ran into his arms.

He hugged her tightly.

"It's over," he murmured.

-------

"Here we are," Brigadier Hopkins said. "We'll deposit your craft here. I understand the rest of the shuttle is here as well?" He glanced over the sea of white tents that the Valiant was hovering over.

"That's right. Thank you for your assistance, Brigadier," the Doctor said.

Brigadier Hopkins saluted him smartly. The Doctor scowled at the military gesture.

"Pleased to be of service. UNIT is always here to help."

"Well if Torchwood can every do anything for you chaps," Max said. "Don't hesitate."

"We won't," the Brigadier assured him. He shook hands with them all, and they walked down the ramp. Behind them, they saw a crane lowering the wayward piece of the shuttle onto the turf.

There were only a few people there, maybe eight or ten of the night crew. Marks came striding past them, relief evident on his sharp features.

"Glad to see you again, Rose," he said, giving her an awkward hug.

Rose smiled slightly.

"Glad to be back."

"Lily's been going frantic," Marks said, frowning. "We all have. We had no idea what happened to you after you just took off."

As if on cue, Lily burst out of a tent, and ran headlong towards them. Without a word, she threw herself into Andy's arms. He extended them just in time to catch her small form. The redhead was dwarfed by him, but that didn't seem to bother her a bit. She yanked his shirt down and kissed him fiercely.

Rose turned away, not wanting to intrude on a private moment between her teammates.

"Well thank goodness that's out in the open," she murmured to the Doctor. "I thought all that unresolved tension was going to make someone explode."

"We know how _that, _feels," he muttered back.

Rose smiled.

Marks turned to Max.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Well," said Max. "At first we didn't know ourselves. Then…"

The Doctor took Rose's hand and pulled her off to the side, away from the centre of attention. There would be other demands in a second, but right now it was just the two of them.

Gently, he wrapped his arms around Rose and hugged her tightly.

"Well that was an adventure," Rose said into his shirt.

The Doctor stroked her hair soothingly.

"Told you everything would be alright," he said.

Rose laughed.

"You did."

"We're alive," the Doctor said.

"Yeah. And we made it all in one piece," Rose returned.

"Yeah. And you're going to have a baby."

Rose smiled up at him.

"Yeah."

The Doctor leaned down to brush his lips against hers.

"Although," Rose said, breaking away. "If you _ever_ treat me like I'm something breakable again, I swear I'll…"

Rose's words were cut off by his kiss.

_Author's Note: Well now. That was fun, wasn't it? It's always hard to write in that breathless, action packed way, but the result is always nice. To be honest, this chapter felt a bit like an episode of MacGyver. What bits of things can we use to save the day today? LOL. _

_Yay, Rose is pregnant! People have been asking about that since I started this story, and I finally found a way to work it in. It worked out quite well, actually. I was originally thinking of her finding out in the usually fanfic way – feel sick, go the doctor, find out she's pregnant. But then this idea occurred to me, and I like it a lot better. _

_I made the flammable lipstick thing up, by the way. Don't try this at home :-P _

_So this is for FebruarySong. She wanted to know what I thought of "The Next Doctor", which I finally got around to watching. I had to wait for my brother and my Dad to be there so they could watch it too. What a letdown! He wasn't actually Eleven! He was just some guy who happened to find a data stamp. I was sort of excited to think we could get a glimpse of Eleven, and then it wasn't him! And I will repeat my complaint about the cybermen: if I never see them again, it will be too soon. Boring! Miss Hadigen, the woman in the red dress, was kinda cool and iconic, being converted but not really. And my brother liked the Cyberking thing. The companion was boring though. She was the worst of all three previous companions: Rose's pikey-ness, Donna's screechy-ness, and Martha's annoying-ness. But, there were some funny lines when the Doctor thought he was talking to a later regeneration of himself, and the part about the TARDIS being Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style was pretty great. All in all, not as good as the first two years, but better than last year because there wasn't a huge amount of death. _


	23. Epilogue: Choices

Rose was on the beach again. Daleg Ulv Strandon. Bad Wolf Bay. The beach where she had died; the beach where she had come to life again.

It was just as she remembered it: barred, windswept, and cold. She looked around at the familiar stretch of land, up and down the barren shoreline.

And that's when she saw him, a figure in the distance. But she recognized him immediately. Standing feet apart, hands buried in the pockets of his long coat, he was distinct, unforgettable. Behind him, the TARDIS' lights blinked welcomingly. She hummed happily in the back of Rose's mind.;

Rose stood frozen for a long minute. Then, she ran. She ran until she was right in front of him, but stopped before she touched him.

"Hello, Rose Tyler," he said softly.

"Is it really you?" she asked.

The Doctor's mouth twisted up in a small smile.

"It's really me," he said.

"What are you doing here?" Rose gasped.

They stood staring at each other in silence, drinking each other in. Then, in one swift move, the Doctor closed the space between then, pulling her to him as he hugged her tightly.

"Rose," he whispered against her hair. "Rose, Rose. I've missed you so much, my Rose. So much."

Rose hugged him fiercely, never wanting to let him go.

"At least you're not alone this time," she said. "You've got Donna."

The Doctor shook his head.

"Don't have Donna any more. I had to… I had to take away her memories of me, so they wouldn't kill her."

Rose saw the sadness in his face, felt it roll of him. She leaned her ear to his chest, cuddling closer. Then, beneath her cheek, she heard a sound she had never thought to hear again. The double rhythm of two hearts beating in tandem.

She drew away.

"You're not him. You're the Time Lord. The real you. Not the Metacrisis."

The Doctor grinned crookedly.

"That's right. I'm the real me," he said.

"But how?" Rose asked. Then, she shook her head. "I should know better than to ask that question. Every time you say it's impossible to get back, you do somehow."

She stepped back to take stock of him, smiling at the familiar sight.

He smiled back.

"I didn't last time, you did. It wasn't me this time either. It was my daughter Jenny and her ship."

"She found you, did she?" Rose asked. "She found us first, and _he_, my Doctor, sent her to you. He said that you needed her more than we did."

"I did need her," the Doctor said softly. "I needed her very much. If it hadn't been for her, I don't know what I'd have done. She offered her ship so that I could come back through the void one last time."

"But why?" Rose asked. "Why would you come back? You know as well as I do how dangerous it is."

The Doctor took Rose's face in his hands.

"Can't you guess?"

Rose shook her head.

"But you left me _here_, Doctor. You wanted me to stay here."

"Oh, Rose," the Doctor said. "The reason I've come back again, Rose, the reason I've breached the walls again is _you_. I've learned that I can't live without you. I've tried, but I can't do it. So I've come to ask you to come with me again." He held out his hand to her.

Rose looked at his hand, then back to his face.

"We could go back to our adventures," he encouraged. "There are so many places that I want to take you, so many things you haven't seen yet. You and I together, just like old times."

Rose extended her hand as if to take his, then hesitantly drew it back.

She looked up into his face, so filled with hope.

"You know," she said, with a sad smile. "For one glorious second I thought I might actually be able to go with you. But I can't."

The Doctor's face fell.

"Why?" he whispered, the hurt in his eyes almost overwhelming.

Rose didn't say anything; she only held up the hand she had almost taken his with. It was her left hand. On the fourth finger was a sparkling wedding band.

"Him," she said simply.

He looked from her face, to the ring. Then, he shook his head.

"But we're the same, Rose. Him and me. It would be the same as if you were with him if you came with me."

Rose considered his words. The other Doctor had said the same thing to her all those years ago when they had been left on this very beach. She wrestled with this. Then, clarity washed over her. There was no more consideration.

"You're not the same," she said slowly. "You're both very different."

"How are we different?" the Doctor demanded. "We have the same thoughts, the same memories. The same… feelings for you."

Rose shook her head.

"He could say it and you couldn't. You still can't. Don't you see, Doctor? He could tell me that he loved me, but you didn't think it needed saying."

"That's not fair," the Doctor argued. "How could I tell you that I loved you when I knew that I had to leave? It would break my hearts all over again. I couldn't risk it."

"There's the difference. He _did_ risk it. You know, all this time I couldn't help thinking that he was the lesser one of you two. But now I see that it's you who's deficient. You're the one who's lacking."

"Lacking?" the Doctor asked, his face flushed with anger. "How am I _lacking_?"

"You didn't have the courage to be there when I needed you," Rose said softly. "Was it you who held my hand when I gave birth to Donna, or who cried with relief when Sarah Jane lived through the night? Did you rescue me from that space ship? Did you wait for me when I walked up the aisle, or buy that house with me, or hold my hair back when I was morning sick?" He's been with me through _everything_. And you… you left me. Right here on this beach. Twice. He promised he never would, and he hasn't left me yet. How can I leave him?"

The Doctor's eyes were stormy.

"Is that your final decision, then? This is a one-time offer. I can't get back here again."

"I can't," she said.

"Why not?"

Rose's hand fluttered to her middle.

"I can't leave. I'm pregnant again. He doesn't know yet."

"Congratulations," the Doctor choked out. "You've really built a life with him, haven't you?"

"What choice did I have? Did either of us have?" Rose snapped. "You stranded us both here. He loves me, and he was willing to be domestic with me. That's something, with all your dash and glamour, and bravery, which you could never give me."

The Doctor looked down at his Converses.

"I'm sorry Rose," he said, looking ashamed of himself. "I shouldn't have come. I know it was selfish, but I just thought… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything."

He looked so broken, so weary and sad, that Rose felt her heart breaking for him.

She wound her arms around him, and hugged him as she would have her own Doctor when he was upset.

A faint sound floated to Rose as she released him from her hug. She cocked her head to one side.

"What is that?" she asked, straining her ears. Somehow, the noise was familiar.

"Is that… crying?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh," Rose said, realization flooding her. "I know what it is. It's Sarah Jane. She's probably had another nightmare."

"Sarah Jane? My Sarah Jane Smith?"

Rose smiled.

"Yeah, that's her name. Only not the one you mean. Sarah's two, and Donna's almost five." The crying was getting louder. Rose felt herself fading away form the beach.

"I think I have to go," she said.

The sadness in the Doctor's eyes increased.

"May I?" he asked, holding his arms out.

Rose nodded, and the Doctor gathered her up into his arms for a final hug. To her surprise, he leaned down and kissed her gently.

"I should have told you," he whispered. "I should have told you every day. I love you. I'll never stop loving you."

Rose stepped back, smiling slightly.

The Doctor smiled back at her.

"I would tell you to be fantastic, but I see that you already are."

Rose chuckled. She could feel herself phasing out of this place.

"Goodbye," she said, raising her hand in farewell.

Her last image of him was him with his hands deep in his pockets while the wind whipped his long coat around his legs, standing on the windswept beach, his face full of ancient sadness.

----

Rose woke with a jolt. Someone was shaking her.

"Rose? Rose, Love, wake up."

Rose opened her eyes, and blinked several times until the face above hers came into focus.

"You were calling out in your sleep, Rose," he said, hovering over her.

"Is it really you?" Rose whispered.

"Is it really me, what?" the Doctor asked.

Rose looked him over, taking in his spaceship boxers and wrinkled white shirt, his tousled hair and 3-day scruff, and smiled.

"It's you. _My _Doctor." She pulled him down and held on to him for dear life.

The Doctor held her securely, not asking why, but comfortingly stroking her back.

"Of course I'm yours," he said soothingly.

"I'll never leave you," Rose whispered, pulling away so that she could see his eyes.

The Doctor brushed a strand of her hair out of her face.

"I know," he answered. "If there's anything I know for sure in this life, it's that."

"I've made my choice," Rose murmured.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, confused.

"It was a dream, I think," Rose said, her voice far away. Had it been a dream? She wasn't sure. She could still feel the cold wind of Daleg Ulv Strandon, the staccato of a double heartbeat against her cheek.

"Just a dream," the Doctor murmured soothingly.

His lips hovered only inches away from her own, and with a smile, Rose leaned up to claim them.

The bedroom door creaked open, forcing them to move farther apart from each other. A small, nightgowned figure padded into the room.

"Mummy, Sarah's crying again," Donna said.

_Author's Note: Fade to black. The author takes a bow. _

_Well, it's finally finished. And I finally get to use the epilogue that's been in my head since the very first chapter, practically. I'm sorry it's over, but well it had to end some time. I know the Doctor at the beginning is acting a little out of character, but it's how I imagine he _would_ act, if he didn't hold himself back. Was it reality? Was it Rose's dream? You'll have to decide for yourself. _

_Thank you to everyone who had read and reviewed this story, and made it an absolute pleasure to write. You are the people that make all this work worthwhile. Also many thanks to I am the Lev for her help with various parts of the story, and to Maestrodamus for his unfailing support and encouragement. _

_This is goodbye, but only for now. Whenever I get around to finishing my backlog of stories, I plan on writing a sequel to this, entitled "The Children of Time". Be sure to watch for it. _

_Gilari _


End file.
